Coastal Stewardship in the Delta

Louisiana

In Louisiana, we work with volunteers, landowners, and partner organizations to monitor and steward solitary and colonial breeding birds. Beach-nesting birds are among the fastest group of birds declining in North America. In Louisiana, not only are they impacted by human disturbance along the shorelines, but their habitat is also rapidly disappearing into the Gulf of Mexico. Over the last 80 years, about 1800 miles of coastal forests, marsh, beach, and barrier habitats have been converted to open water in Louisiana.

Louisiana staff, with the help of volunteers, monitor and steward more than 1,100 acres of coastal habitat on Grand Isle, Elmer’s Island, and in Cameron Parish. This is about 20 percent of the state population of Least Terns and 10 percent of the state population of Wilson’s Plovers. The coastal team attends outreach events, educates the public, and hosts presentations sharing research and best management practices with the public and community shareholders.   

Mississippi 

The Mississippi Coastal Bird Stewardship program, a comprehensive conservation and research program that promoted the protection of coastal birds and their habitats, was established in 2014. The program has employed a grassroots approach to conservation and built a large base of volunteers, partners, and advocates. 

The program has expanded on the foundation laid by the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society chapter, started in the 1970’s by well-known birder, Judith Toups. The Mississippi Coastal Program actively stewards Least Terns and Black Skimmers and monitors solitary nesting birds on the nearshore and barrier islands, tracking their recovery from the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. The program connects with local schools, festivals, and community groups through various outreach events. Additionally, program biologists band and radio- or satellite-tag focal species to support ongoing research.