Breton Island (Louisiana) Explained

Breton Island is an island (or group of islands) in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River and part of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.^[1] It is part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1904.

Number of islands

In the early 19th century, Breton Island comprised two islands.^[2] Prior to Hurricane Opal in 1995, it was a single island, and was divided in two by that storm. After Hurricane Georges in 1998 it was divided into three islands.^[3] Hurricane Ivan in 2004 caused additional damage to the island.

Erosion and restoration

Breton Island decreased from in 1869 to in 1996.^[4] Some restoration was done in 1999 funded pursuant to the Water Resources Development Act of 1992;^[5] the project was put on hold in 2000. Fines from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are being used for rebuilding Breton Island.^{[6] [7]} They aim to enlarge the island to .

References

29.4642°N -89.1994°W

Notes and References

1. Book: Sir Humphry Davy. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The collected works of Sir Humphry Davy ...: Discourses delivered before the Royal society. Elements of agricultural chemistry, pt. I. 10 December 2012. 1896. Smith, Elder and Company. 440–.
2. Book: Richard Brookes. Darby's Universal gazetteer, or A new geographical dictionary:: containing a description of the empires, kingdoms, states, provinces, cities, towns, forts, seas, harbours, rivers, lakes, mountains, capes, &c. in the known world : with the government, customs, and manners, of the inhabitants : the extent, boundaries, and natural productions of each country; and the trade, manufactures, and curiosities of the cities and towns : Illustrated by a neat coloured map of the United States. 10 December 2012. 1827. Bennett & Walton, 37, Market Street. 101–.
3. Web site: USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Prehurricane Survey of Barrier Islands Post Hurricane Ivan . 2012-12-10 . September 18, 2004 . National Wetlands Research Center . U.S. Department of the Interior.
4. Web site: Consistency Issues & Projects - Department of Natural Resources, State of Louisiana. 10 December 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20121226164441/http://dnr.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=108. 26 December 2012.
5. Creef . Edward D. . Mathies . Linda G. . Hennington . Susan M. . Stephen Jr . Garbaciak . Dredging '02: Key Technologies for Global Prosperity . 2003 . 1–5 . 10.1061/40680(2003)13 . Breton Island Restoration Project . 978-0-7844-0680-9.
6. News: Louisiana lining up major restoration projects to build with BP oil spill fine money . November 29, 2012 . New Orleans Times-Picaune . 2012-12-11.
7. News: Paker . Halle . The first sand is being pumped on North Breton Island, a 'vital' barrier island for birds . 25 December 2020 . The Advocate . 22 December 2020.