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NEWS RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA

March 4, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1,000 TREES PLANTED ALONG GOOSE BAYOU IN LAFITTE TO HELP WITH COASTAL EROSION

Trees add to marsh protected by Jefferson Parish Christmas Tree Shoreline Protection Project

JEFFERSON, LA – On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, Jefferson Parish partnered with Jefferson Beautification Inc. to plant approximately 1,000 Bald Cypress trees in the Barataria Basin. The $20,000 project near Lafitte, LA, was made possible by discretionary funding from Councilman Ricky Templet. Jefferson Beautification contracted the tree planting with a Louisiana company--Resource Environmental Solutions--which also donated 500 trees grown in their Pointe aux Chenes Nursery as part of this effort.

“We committed to funding this project because we understand the importance of reducing coastal erosion for the future of our Parish,” said Templet. “Without coastal restoration efforts, the loss of our wetlands will continue to increase which means we are more vulnerable to storm surge.”

Approximately 400 trees were planted along the western shoreline of Bayou Des Oies (commonly known as Goose Bayou) and 600 trees along the southern side of Bayou de Fleur. Biodegradable nutria guards were installed around each tree and secured using a bamboo stake. This planting is protected by the Jefferson Parish Christmas Tree Recycling Shoreline Protection Project, which recently celebrated its 30th year of diverting hundreds of thousands of trees from the Jefferson Parish landfill to help protect and restore rich wetland habitat. Tree planting projects like these reduce land loss and prevent future coastal erosion. In Louisiana, approximately a football field of land is lost every hour.

“We are excited to add a coastal planting to our usual public landscaping projects portfolio that we’ve worked on throughout Jefferson Parish for the past 30+ years,” said Debbie Settoon, Board Director of the nonprofit Jefferson Beautification Inc. “The native bald cypress species was chosen for its ability to grow in wetter areas with existing emergent growth, eventually building a more stable land ridge to reduce erosion.”

The mission of Jefferson Parish’s Coastal Management Department is to build and manage a resilient and sustainable coastal community by: stewarding restoration projects with state and federal agencies; educating the public on coastal issues through outreach and community education events; and managing construction, development and production activities in Jefferson Parish’s coastal zone.

CLICK HERE for photos of the tree planting.

For more information about coastal projects in Jefferson Parish, visit www.jeffparish.net/departments/coastal-management.

For more information about Jefferson Parish, visit www.JeffParish.net. Residents can also receive regular updates by following the Parish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@JeffParishGov).

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Jefferson Parish Public Information Office

1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite 1002

Jefferson, LA 70123

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Gretchen Hirt Gendron, PIO

Office: 504-736-6410