Forests Get a Helping Hand

Recognizing their ecological value and the potential capability of coastal forests to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure from storm damage, the state of Louisiana has launched the Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI). Because the process of restoring degraded forests is long and difficult, CFCI focuses on protecting and preserving all types of existing coastal forests to secure their functions, such as reducing storm surge, buffering winds, storing floodwaters and providing essential habitat.

Historically the elevations of cheniers and natural levees have been valued for development and agriculture, resulting in the destruction and fragmentation of the indigenous oak-hackberry forests growing on them. CFCI is developing site-specific management plans to prevent further degradation of each participating forest tract and to preserve and enhance their ecological functions.

The initiative is funded through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP), which is dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring coastal areas. The state has sought partnerships with private and nonprofit entities to pursue the initiative’s goals and works with willing landowners to purchase conservation servitudes or to buy the most important and threatened forested lands to preserve for conservation purposes.