ENROLLED
2020 First Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 24
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHEAT
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to work with the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to develop integrated coastal protection
projects aimed at preserving and maintaining healthy estuarine and essential fish
habitat in and around Lake Pontchartrain.
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin comprises over ten thousand square miles
of land in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is one of the largest estuarine systems in
the Gulf of Mexico containing over twenty-two essential habitats and encompassing both
rural and urban land use in the most densely populated region in Louisiana, including metro
New Orleans and the state capital, Baton Rouge; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is the heart of the region's commercial and
recreational fisheries and the center of southeastern Louisiana's unique cultural heritage, and
the estuary's habitats provide important ecological, cultural, and economic benefits to the
entire region; and
WHEREAS, estuaries and coastal waters provide an essential habitat for seventy-five
percent of America's commercial fish catch and eighty to ninety percent of the recreational
fish catch while at the same time, estuaries protect landowners from flood waters and act as
storm buffers, guarding residential areas from hurricanes; and
WHEREAS, in 2019 high water in the state's rivers, particularly the Mississippi
River, created a situation where the Bonnet Carré Spillway, located on the southwestern
edge of Lake Pontchartrain, was open for one hundred twenty-two days diverting large
amounts of fresh water into the brackish water of Lake Pontchartrain; and
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WHEREAS, the Bonnet Carré Spillway was opened in 2016, 2018, 2019, and again
in the spring of 2020, dumping fresh water into Lake Pontchartrain each time and causing
extreme damage to the freshwater fisheries of the lake; and
WHEREAS, while acknowledging the necessity of operating the spillway for flood
control as it was intended, we must also look at efforts to mitigate the damages done to the
estuary and restoring the fisheries impacted by that operation; and
WHEREAS, past efforts to preserve and develop estuarine habitat have included the
establishment of rock jetties to protect the shoreline which have the added benefit of
harboring small fish and acting as a nursery for many species of fish and the establishment
of artificial reefs through deploying reef balls that encourage the biodiversity and
environmental quality of the lake through supplementing hard substratum; and
WHEREAS, efforts such as these would be of great benefit to the northwestern areas
of the lake, the areas most directly affected by the influx of fresh water into the lake; and
WHEREAS, under the 2019 Fisheries Disaster funding from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana has been allocated $58 million for fisheries
recovery, some of which could be used by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to improve essential fish habitat in Lake
Pontchartrain, particularly in the western portion of the lake which is the portion first
affected by the influx of fresh water from the Mississippi River; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the ecological aspects of the Pontchartrain Basin, there
has been an increase in human population surrounding the lake which has increased the
possibilities of flooding along the lakeshore with a concordant increase in economic impacts
from such flooding, some of which could be mitigated through preservation and
development of more estuarine habitat; and
WHEREAS, more frequent high water incidents are affecting the quality of life and
having negative economic impacts on the residents and businesses located around the lake,
impacts that could be mitigated through the implementation of thoughtful, scientifically-
based integrated coastal protection projects coordinated between the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; and
WHEREAS, Lake Pontchartrain is not frequently thought of in terms of coastal
restoration but clearly lies in the coastal zone and is struggling with the same difficulties and
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adversity from the same set of factors as the rest of coastal Louisiana in the efforts to
preserve and maintain both the ecological health of the area and the protection of the
residents and businesses that reside near and benefit from the lake.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority to work with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to develop integrated
coastal protection projects aimed at preserving and maintaining healthy estuarine and
essential fish habitat in and around Lake Pontchartrain.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and secretary of the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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