Excerpt
The Cameron-Creole Watershed Project incorporates approximately 1 13,000 acres in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The area is bounded by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway on the north, Calcasieu Lake and Calcasieu Pass on the west, Louisiana Highway 27, Little Chenier Ridge, and Little Chenier Canal on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico and Mermentau River on the south (Figure 1). Because of severe saltwater intrusion, marshlands in the area were converting to open water as the salt water killed the vegetation that held the soil of the marsh (SCS 1983). To counter this conversion, a cooperative construction project for watershed protection was established for Cameron-Creole. Sponsors of this project were the Gulf Coast Soil and Water Conservation District, Cameron Parish Police Jury, and the Cameron Parish Gravity Drainage Districts Numbers 3 and 4 (SCS 1967).
The first phase involved construction of a 19-mile levee along the eroding shore of Calcasieu Lake. Because of the size of the area and its value to a wide variety of uses and user groups the area was evaluated as an ecosystem based watershed project. The input of various federal and state agencies along with local groups and individuals was encouraged in …
Footnotes
Martin D. Floyd is a wildlife biologist with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service on the Water Resources Planning Staff in Alexandria, Louisiana.
- Copyright 1995 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.