Wildlife management area coastal restoration work latest in Gulf Saver Bags project.
A project aimed at restoring habitat at Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area at the terminus of the Mississippi River continued in November with the deployment of 4,000 so-called Gulf Saver Bags, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced today (Dec. 14).
Gulf Saver Bags are biodegradable burlap bags filled with a site-specific, custom mix of all natural humus, organic matter, vital nutrients and microbes to provide a base for plants to thrive.
Marsh grasses are planted directly into the bags, and the bags degrade over a three- to four-month period after the plant roots have been successfully established.
This is fourth deployment of Gulf Saver Bags on the WMA in the past 12 months.
The work is coordinated by the Restore the Earth Foundation, and is accomplished with the use of Americorps volunteer teams from the National Civilian Community Corps Southern Region. LDWF staff assisted with delivery of volunteers and materials to the sites.
Funding for the Gulf Saver Bags utilized in the November deployment was provided by the Clif Bar Foundation and In Good Company. Additional volunteer support was provided by Eileen Fisher and representatives of Annie’s Homegrown, the Children’s Creative Learning Center, Effect Marketing, Hyphae, Quality Bicycle Products, States Logistics, Seventh Generation and Timberland.
Pass a Loutre WMA, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, provides valuable wildlife habitat within one of nation’s most important migratory bird fly-ways. Portions of that habitat were severely impacted by hurricane activity in 2005 and 2008, and oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The WMA encompasses 115,000 acres and is the oldest wildlife management area in Louisiana.