By Nadine Leavit Siak, USFWS Gulf Restoration
"Good Queen Bess" (a.k.a. Queen Elizabeth) is credited with putting an end to a period of instability in mid-16th century England. Unfortunately, the tiny scrap of land in Louisiana that bears her name, Queen Bess Island, has been anything but stable. The island, located about two-and-a-half miles north of Grand Isle in Barataria Bay, has been sinking and eroding into the Gulf of Mexico. This is a matter of grave concern, as Queen Bess Island supports the third largest brown pelican rookery in Louisiana.
Less than five acres of suitable nesting and brood-rearing bird habitat remain on Queen Bess Island, so immediate action is needed to stop the erosion and build back what has been lost. Using $18.7 million of Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (DWH NRDA) settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a restoration effort aimed at adding 37 acres of prime nesting habitat will start this October. If not for a remarkable regulatory feat, project managers would have had to wait until next year to start the project. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS’) streamlining of the environmental compliance process led to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) being able to issue a permit for the project in only two days.