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PORT FOURCHON, LA – Oct. 20, 2025 – Against the backdrop of Louisiana's working coast, community leaders, conservation partners, and Ducks Unlimited volunteers gathered at the Fourchon Pavilion to celebrate a victory in the fight against coastal land loss: the completion of Phase I of the Port Fourchon Terracing and Living Shoreline Project

The project tackles one of Louisiana's most critical challenges head-on. Strategically positioned adjacent to nationally vital infrastructure, including Highway 1, LOOP's Booster Station, and essential Port facilities, the restoration site sits in a coastal basin suffering the highest annual land loss rate in the state.

Phase I delivered an innovative approach to coastal protection by installing 87,000 linear feet of earthen marsh terraces combined with cutting-edge living shoreline features using Natrx "Cajun Coral" oyster reef materials. This nature-based solution creates living reefs that grow on and around shoreline structures, harnessing the power of marine ecosystems to heal the coast.

Using marsh buggies and barge-mounted excavators, construction crews built terraces in shallow open water that once supported thriving marsh. Each terrace spans approximately 75 feet wide at the base, with a 10-foot crown, and strategic gaps allow for proper tidal flow and marine access.

Along 4,000 linear feet of terrace edges, living shoreline features now provide critical marine habitat while defending against erosion. Smooth cordgrass plugs and black mangrove seedlings were planted across the terraces, establishing the foundation for a resilient coastal ecosystem.

"This project represents the best of what's possible when industry, government, and conservation come together with a shared mission," said Cassidy Lejeune, Director of Conservation Programs for Ducks Unlimited. "We're not just building marsh, we're building resilience for Louisiana's coast, its communities, and the incredible wildlife that depends on these wetlands. Phase I proves that innovative, nature-based solutions can work at scale, and we're excited to build on this success with Phase II."

Completed in early 2025, Phase I marks a significant milestone in Louisiana's coastal restoration efforts. Phase II will go to construction in 2026, targeting approximately 1,000 acres of salt marsh enhancement through 108,000 linear feet of additional terraces.

The restored habitat will benefit an extraordinary array of wildlife—waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, colonial seabirds, secretive marsh birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, finfish, and shellfish. The terraces create increased edge habitat, tidal flats, and emergent marsh while improving water quality and supporting submerged aquatic vegetation that serves as food and shelter for countless species.

Constructed on property owned by ConocoPhillips, the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, and the Edward Wisner Trust, the project represents an unprecedented coalition of partners, including Ducks Unlimited, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Edward Wisner Trust, Lafourche Parish Government, Greater Lafourche Port Commission, Chevron, the James M. Cox Foundation of Georgia, Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Restore or Retreat, LOOP, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Woodside Energy, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Shell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oxy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ducks Unlimited engineers oversee all survey, design, and construction management.