KEY TAKEAWAYS: Louisiana and federal agencies are finalizing a more than $100 million plan to restore and expand Raccoon Island. The project would restore about 410 acres of beach, dune and marsh while enhancing bird nesting habitat. Plans include raising Gulf-side breakwaters and constructing living reefs to reduce erosion and storm surge impacts. Raccoon Island serves as critical habitat for migratory birds and helps protect approximately 200,000 coastal residents from hurricanes.   Louisiana, federal officials plan multi-million dollar island restoration A collection of state and federal officials are planning rescue efforts of a Gulf island crucial breeding ground for migratory bird species and protects about 200,000 coastal homes. The project would not only protect the island, but increase its overall size. Raccoon Island is important to man and bird alike, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Program Manager John Wiebe said, and officials are in the design phase of how to restore and rehabilitate the island. It’s an early line of defense for Louisiana’s coast against storm surges, but also a nesting habitat for many migratory fowl. Both the island and the pelicans that call it home were hit bad by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and since that time the problems have been compounded by erosion, subsidence and sea level rise. The plan is 95% completed and expected to be presented to the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, which controls the purse strings on the oil spill settlement funds. The original price tag was $102,900,000, or $250,976-per-acre, but recently inflated gas prices have pushed that price up. “Its going to be different than that number based on fuel prices,” Wiebe said. Gas prices have been fluctuating due to the U.S.-Iran War which began February 2026. The plan is being designed by scientists and engineers from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more. The plan is not only to perform maintenance on existing protective structures, but also to increase the total size of the island. Increasing the size would create more nesting habitat for the birds, but also more area to protect Louisiana’s coast from storm surges. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Phase 2 Restoration Plan says that the plan is to restore approximately 410 acres of beach, dune, and marsh by raising the existing Gulfside breakwaters. The island is currently about 162 acres. These breakwaters slow the flow of water, depositing sediments along Raccoon Island’s shore. As subsidence and sea levels rise, the breakwater projects require maintenance, raising its height is necessary for it to continue its purpose. The project also includes a plan to construct 13, 400-feet-long bayside protection structures, living reefs. The reefs will act as both protection for the land, and food source for the birds. “Contrary to traditional breakwaters, these structures will have lower elevation and include a layer of oyster cultch on the marsh-side, creating a low-crested living shoreline structure,” the restoration plan says. The plan involves protections on both sides of the island, which Wiebe says is unusual for barrier islands. Barrier islands naturally move around the Gulf because coastal currents move their sand around. According to Wiebe, the planners want to protect their investment, anchoring the land created in its place. What’s good for the goose… The Barrier Islands are key to the migratory airways of birds avoiding the colder temperatures of winter, but also key nesting grounds for many of them. The island provides foods, a resting place, and has no natural predators for the birds, making it a perfect rendezvous spot for fledgling-rearing. Raccoon Island is a love nest for birds like Brown Pelicans, Black Skimmers, Reddish Egrets and more. American Flamingos recently showed up and have been repeatedly sighted there since Hurricane Idalia blew them in in 2023. These birds that call the island home were severely impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and as part of the settlement the birds have to be made whole as well. But the island isn’t just for the birds, its existence protects about 200,000 coastal residents. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Gordy Dove said the barrier islands are the first line of defense for Terrebonne and Lafourche. As hurricanes push their storm surges towards the shore, the barrier islands take the first punch, truncating the surge and lowering its overall impact to coastal communities. Dove said it’s noteworthy that these efforts that are being planned for Raccoon Island already have been tested in other areas and proven to work. “The big thing about that island is that it’s shown to be successful,” Dove said. According to Dove, 27-years-ago Raccoon Island had backwater restoration and segmented breakwater rocks installed on the southern part. These projects were vital in that they caused the island to rebuild itself after each storm. Asked about the efficacy of the living reef portion of the project, Dove said of course he thought it worked. “I started that, that’s in Lake Chien and Lake Tambour,” Dove said. Then he described the reefs, “It’s exactly what it says, you put a base down where the oyster can attach to it, and it grows oysters and the oysters become the protection.” He said the living reefs are good because the oysters regrowing on their own helps with maintenance, but also, “for the folks who like mother nature taking care of itself, it’s mother nature at its best,” he said. The living reefs not only protect the island, but also become an extra buffer that slow storm surges as they travel toward the coast, Dove added. This article originally appeared on The Courier: Louisiana, federal officials plan multi-million dollar island restoration Reporting by Colin Campo, Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet / The Courier USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less