The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana recently partnered with Phillips 66 to plant 10,000 plugs of marsh grasses in Cameron Parish. The nonprofit organization recruited as many as 60 members to plant the spartina alterniflora in an area of degraded marsh east of Calcasieu Lake.

“This marsh was heavily degraded during Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta in 2020 and today we’re putting some plugs back into the ground to re-establish some healthy marsh that’ll be really important for nursery habitat, for fish, birds and wildlife and also storm surge protection,” Gardner Goodall, native plants program manager at CRCL, said.

Goodall spent the weekend in the marsh helping to plant the grasses. In order to plant the grass, the volunteers took stems or plugs of grass and stuck it into the mud. Goodall said the top of the mud feels softer, but the deeper you get it becomes more like clay. The firmer the mud gets is where the grass was to be planted.

“The idea is that all these roots will spread into the ground and will fill in the missing spots in the marsh,” he said.

Once it’s in the mud you give it a little pull at the top to make sure it’s in the mud well planted, he said.

“It’s really nice to be out here with some sportsman that really can appreciate the value of this habitat and are working so closely and intimately with the landscape. I was learning last night at the camp about all the different types of ducks that come here from all over the world, from Mexico to Canada, to use these abundant wetlands for refuge,” Goodall said.

This project will help protect communities and industry alike in Southwest Louisiana, and it’s an easy, fun opportunity for people to get involved in protecting the coast, Goodall said.

The grasses were planted in an area impacted by the Cameron-Creole Freshwater Introduction project. The freshwater diversion, completed in 2022, has reduced salinity levels in the watershed and improved the overall health of the marsh.

“The project allows for freshwater to come back into this area and have more flow through here,” Goodall explained.

Some of the volunteers consisted of members from the Louisiana Master Naturalist Chapter out of Lake Charles, Phillips 66, Royal Engineering and a couple of volunteers who saw the event on Facebook.

Yana Allen, a member of the Louisiana Master Naturalist Chapter, saw the event on Facebook and thought it was a great opportunity.

“I’ve lived in a lot of states and I have to say out of all of them, Louisiana has my heart and soul,” Allen said.

Melissa Fusilier was scrolling on Facebook and saw something about “Protecting the Coastline.” She said she clicked on it, saw the event,  and decided to take the day off of work to volunteer planting.

“I’m an outdoors woman. I love to fish and hunt and it’s just my part of giving back. I’ve loved Louisiana, I’ve lived here my whole life and I’m happy to be here,” Fusilier said.

Mickey McMillin is a retired plumbing contractor who said he’s always had an interest in volunteering — particularly for Ducks Unlimited.

McMillin said Louisiana is a duck-hunting state and more ducks are killed in Cameron Parish than the whole Atlantic Flyway.

“By doing this planting today and restoring the marsh back to something that the birds can use and if the birds are here then the hunters will be here, which brings people here,” McMillin said.

A mile of marsh is expected to stop a foot of storm surge.

“It’s protecting our culture, and it’s also creating a line of defense for inland communities, so it’s like a win-win for everybody to restore this marsh area,” Donna Betzer, developmental director for CRCL, said.

Goodall said it was inspiring to work with people who are so passionate about the state and were “willing to get knee deep in the marsh to help, as well.”

“What we do here is great and important, but it’s really about changing people’s minds at the end of the day to think about the importance of coastal restoration projects on a large scale and the funding needed for those,” he said.

Coastal wetlands are a natural compound of hurricane protection in the state, helping to weaken storms and absorb storm surge. The state has had about 2,000 square miles of wetlands disappear into open water in less than a century.

“This is good for storm surge protection, hurricane rehabilitation, and also for our hunters and fisherman that live out here in Southwest Louisiana — it’s a full life cycle project,” Megan Hartman, regional public affairs director for Phillips 66, said.

CRCL has planted more than one million plants and grasses since 1988 and returned more than 15 million pounds of shell to the water to create living shorelines. The organization also trains college students through its Future Coastal Leaders program and educates professionals through the Coastal Leadership Institute.