Engineering For Grand Butte Island Begins

Mississippi and Alabama are collaborating on a project to restore an island in the northern Mississippi Sound to create more habitat for brown shrimp, white shrimp, blue crab and other species, AL.com reports. Last month, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council—a group of officials from the Gulf states tasked with distributing funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement—allocated $55 million to restore Grand Batture Island in the Mississippi Sound. The island is largely off the coast of Mississippi but stretches into Grand Bay. The funds will be used to design, engineer and deposit material in and around the island to try to restore it to its historical footprint. In 1850, the island was around 5 mi. long. Today, the seaward edge of the island is approximately 1 mi. long and resembles a shoal. Once restoration is completed, the island will protect the acres of saltwater marsh behind it and help create new saltwater marsh habitat. The project is projected to cost approximately $63.6 million, to be split between funds provided by the restoration council and a grant from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, which also distributes oil-spill settlement money. It is expected to be completed in five to seven years.