Ducks Unlimited representatives provided a progress report on multiple coastal restoration projects in Terrebonne Parish, describing completed marsh terraces, levee repair and longer-term project planning and funding partnerships.

Scott Graham, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited in Lafayette, summarized recent work including the Dularge Marsh enhancement and community resilience project, which he said constructed 84,000 linear feet of earthen marsh terraces, refurbished 2,200 linear feet of levee and replaced an old water-control structure. Graham said the combined project benefited about 3,700 acres and cost roughly $7,250,000; partners listed included the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, Apache Minerals, the Hairybird Corporation, the Dularge Marsh Hunting Club, the Terrebonne Parish (Consolidated Government), the Terrebonne Soil and Conservation District, and CPRA.

Amanda Boisent, coastal restoration coordinator for Ducks Unlimited's South Louisiana office, described the ConocoPhillips partnership that she said has provided roughly $1 million per year since 2012, enabling Ducks Unlimited to leverage that funding into larger projects. She described ongoing work on the Cairncrow (Cairn Crow) Bayou bankline restoration (phased bankline lift and breach repairs) and the West Rackercy Bay phase 2 terracing work, noting phase 1 of the Cairn Crow Bayou work was under construction and was funded primarily through the ConocoPhillips–Ducks Unlimited partnership with additional CPRA grant funding.

Speakers described construction methods (marsh buggy dredging for terraces, planting Spartina alterniflora on terrace edges) and design elevations used for terraces and bank-lift work. They also discussed newer shoreline-protection materials such as the “Cajun coral” concrete units used experimentally on some projects and said these materials have been used elsewhere in the basin.

Committee members asked about hurricane effects on terraces and public access on privately owned parcels participating in grant-funded restoration. Ducks Unlimited staff said vegetated terraces that had consolidated held up well in storms, that public access varies by landowner and is negotiated as part of project partnerships, and that many grants are structured to pair private and public land tracks to meet match requirements. The organizations said they would follow up with technical details on planting species and access arrangements as requested.