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Restore or Retreat reports volunteer plantings at West Grand Terre and mangrove terraces at Port Fourchon
Summary
Restore or Retreat described vegetation plantings at West Grand Terre (Oct. 2024) and a December 2024 mangrove-terracing volunteer effort at Port Fourchon, reported preliminary survivorship after a recent cold/snow event and noted follow-up monitoring and an April 2025 planting window for phase 2.
Representatives Joseph Ojouron and Polly Glover of Restore or Retreat presented two volunteer-driven restoration efforts in the Lower Barataria Basin: a multi-phase planting at West Grand Terre and terracing and mangrove plantings near Port Fourchon.
Why this matters: both projects use volunteer labor and partner grants to accelerate on-the-ground restoration of barrier island and nearshore habitats that provide storm buffering and habitat for birds and fisheries.
Polly Glover summarized the West Grand Terre work. A phase‑1 planting in November 2022 established roughly 10 acres of vegetation; a follow-up planting in October 2024 used private and grant funding (CPRA Partnership Trust Fund, Restore America’s Estuaries, Citgo and a private donor) to plant about 8,200 plants — sand oaks (test plots on barrier dunes), vermilion smooth cordgrass and black mangrove clusters. Restore or Retreat reported volunteer turnout (37 volunteers at the October event) and said the site showed established vegetation in many areas. After an unusual winter snow event, a field assessment in February 2025 estimated roughly 80% survivorship for vermilion smooth cordgrass and 50–60% stress signs on black mangrove tops with expectation of recovery. Representatives said they plan another site check in April and will assess whether additional plantings are needed.
On Port Fourchon, Ojouron and Glover described 22 earthen terraces (about 87,000 linear feet) where volunteers planted about 12,000 mangroves over a three-day effort in December 2024 with Ducks Unlimited, Woodside Energy and MANG (a private donor) among collaborators. The project also included a test matrix of Cajun coral for shoreline stabilization. They noted some construction delays that have pushed the second-phase planting to a tentative early‑April 2025 date.
Restore or Retreat positioned their work as filling a local outreach and volunteer role that complements CPRA-funded construction and engineering; the presenters invited board members to volunteer and provided restoreretreat.org as a contact for future participation.
Ending: presenters said the islands are actively vegetating, that volunteer monitoring will continue, and that they welcome collaboration with CPRA and parish partners for follow-up visits and planting phases.
