Thanks to the Minerals Management Service, St. Tammany Parish will recieve some much needed funding for wetland restoration.

In a press release sent from U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s office, Vitter announced St. Tammany has been awarded a $1 million grant from the MMS, the Federal agency that manages the nation’s natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf.

“This grant is another step in our continued efforts to secure south Louisiana’s valuable wetlands,” Vitter said. “The long-term survival of these precious resources depends on the successful planning and execution of numerous projects, including this one in St. Tammany Parish.” The grant will fund the acquisition and preservation of 22 acres of forested and wetlands habitat on either side of Bayou Liberty as part of the state’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program plan. Specifically, the property is located south of Interstate 12 and west of Northshore Boulevard.

“This is great news,” St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis said. “It is part of St. Tammany’s continuing effort to conserve and restore our wetlands and natural forests. I began this effort with the acquisition of Camp Salmen eight years ago and continue to make preserving our ecology and habitat a priority.”

In 2006, the Trust for Public Land acquired this land on behalf of St. Tammany Parish. It was the parish’s wish to take this property out of commerce and preserve it for several reasons.

Preserving the Bayou Liberty area of land will also prevent development that might impact the natural drainage basin of the area.

After losing over seven square miles of wetlands in Hurricane Katrina alone, Davis expressed his concern for maintaining that area for drainage.

“Projects such as this property acquisition in Bayou Liberty help with storm protection, drainage and wildlife habitat. This is a winning project,” Davis said.

The property was acquired by the TPL for $1.5 million and St. Tammany Parish agreed to purchase the land from the Trust. The balance of the funds will be paid by future grants and St. Tammany Parish funds.

A bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, the MMS also collects, accounts for and disburses more than $8 billion per year in revenues from Federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.