Aerial Seeding Project for Coastal Wetlands Takes Off!

Dispersing seeds from the air to help plants grow on barrier islands and in the marshes breaks from traditional planting methods, and that's progress!

DNR, the LSU AgCenter, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service are combining plant research with new techniques in the fight to reclaim precious coastal wetlands in Louisiana.

In late March, Secretary Caldwell joined other agency officials and researchers at Grand Terre Island at Barataria Bay to participate in this first-time coastal restoration project. By airplane, smooth cordgrass seeds were applied on dredged material on the island. The technique will help stabilize marsh environments.

Editors: For more on this topic, please contact DNR Public Information Officer Phyllis Darensbourg at 225-342-8955.

See this pictorial series taken at Grand Terre on March 23, 2000.