| "It's a partnership between state and federal government working with individual districts at the local level." | |
| Mike Materne, Natural Resources Conservation Service |
|
Cooperation between federal, state, and local governments to complete projects at the local level can sometimes be a challenge. Coastal resource managers in Louisiana have established a successful marsh-vegetation planting program by tapping into a multi-government network that dates back to the 1930s.
The Louisiana Vegetation Planting Program utilizes Soil and Water Conservation Districts, which can be found across the country, to "find new and innovative ways to establish vegetation in our marshes," says Kenneth Bahlinger, chief landscape architect with the Coastal Restoration Division of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.
"It's an education and information exchange tool," says Mike Materne, plant materials specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Materne notes the Soil and Water Conservation Districts were created generally following county or parish lines "to help with the great dust bowl of the 1930s." A board of five local representatives who are "usually farmers or agricultural related people" oversees the districts and requests demonstration projects. Typically the districts have been ways to get information about improving soil and crops to farmers and landowners. In Louisiana, the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry administers the program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service, provides input and guidance.
"The districts are the point, or the base, of this program," Materne says. "It's a partnership between state and federal government working with individual districts at the local level."
In 1988, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources entered into an annual agreement with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to begin utilizing the network to "plant and monitor marsh vegetation throughout the coastal zone of Louisiana," Bahlinger says. The Conservation District boards select areas where they think restoration or research needs to be done, and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry then plans, evaluates, plants, and monitors the sites. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides the program managers with office space, and has staff who provide technical advice and input.
"In the majority of the country, they [the districts] are dealing with farmers," Bahlinger notes. "In South Louisiana, it has more of a coastal interest because erosion and wetlands loss are a huge problem. Here, more coastal people are involved than farmers."
Bahlinger says the program is "a good way of getting plants established." Almost 300 miles of coastline have been planted, and the projects allow for experimentation with plant species and new technologies. It's also spurred a cottage industry of wetland plant nurseries in the state.
Materne says the program "creates an awareness of coastal problems and helps get local landowners more involved. It's always easier for people to understand something when they can see it, and we're bringing people out and showing them the effect these projects are having."
He adds, "If we ever lose our marsh, it will have huge ramifications. Our coastal area is really a whole unique culture. It's a resource that nobody wants to lose."
For more information about the Louisiana Vegetation Planting Program, contact Kenneth Bahlinger at (225) 342-7362, or kennethb@dnr.state.la.us. You may also contact Mike Materne at (225) 389-0335, or mmaterne@earthlink.net.
