Welcome
You are here because of your interest in the future of the Mermentau River Watershed. Though we all see natural environmental changes through the windows of our home, where our property meets the nearby landowner’s, as we enjoy our surrounding natural resources, or as those changes impact people in the regions and districts we serve; some of us are, or must be, more aware of those changes. Our increased awareness and need for understanding brought us to the first Mermentau River Watershed Coalition meeting on February 19th. This webpage may become a home for discussion as we all develop a deeper understand of our watershed from the upper reaches in Allen, Evangeline and Sta Landry Parishes south to the marshes and coastline in Vermilion and Cameron Parishes.
The Louisiana Watershed Initiative is what spurred our initial meeting and that program will likely be the impetus for our discussions over the coming weeks and months. The funding opportunities the program provides certainly warrant that discussion. We should use this opportunity as only a starting point to better understand the River and it contributing areas. This will undoubtedly lead to deeper understanding and discussion regarding the management methods, programs and infrastructure in the watershed.
This initial message is just a brief introduction of what will be ongoing discussion. All are welcome to leave comments, suggestion, stories, data, information, etc regarding the changes you see in your surrounding environment that give us all a better understanding.
Below is a brief summary of our February 19, 2019 meeting. More later.
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Summary: Initial Coalition Discussion Meeting
Notes:
- Louisiana Watershed Initiative https://watershed.la.gov/
- $1.2B in federal funding for watershed planning, flood protection, etc.
- Administered through State Office of Community Development.
- Planning still underway for funding distribution.
- Phase 1 application https://watershed.la.gov/assets/docs/Application-Summary-Handout-No.1.pdf
- Stakeholders Present
Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury (PPJ) | Vermilion PPJ | Acadia PPJ |
Evangeline PPJ | Cameron PPJ | City of (Co) Jennings |
Co Lake Arthur | Evangeline PPJ & Public Works | Broadmoor Drainage District (Lake Arthur) |
Acadiana Planning Commission | Rockerfeller Nat’l Wildlife Refuge |
3. Stakeholders Needed
- Allen Parish
- Oberlin
- Oakdale
- Drainage Districts
- Evangeline
- Mamou
- Ville Platte
- St Landry
- Eunice
- Acadia
- Church Pointe
- Crowley
- Iota
- Jeff Davis
- Welsh
Action Items:
- BWC
- Coordinate stakeholders in one location
- Mermentau River Watershed Coalition webpage
- Discuss existing drainage studies with NRCS office in Jennings
- post map of the watershed on webpage
- Coordinate stakeholders in one location
- Coalition
- Prep for stream gauge discussion with APC
6 thoughts on “Thanks for Your Interest”
Alex,
Thanks for taking the bull by the horns we really appreciate it.
Butch Lafargue
JDPPJ #11
Happy to do it, Butch. Spread the word. At this point, we need local knowledge and ideas.
This is long over due. Hopefully this group can get something done about our drainage problems,
Thanks, Poncho. Please spread the word and encourage all you see to get engaged here. We need to mine the resources around us first in the form of local knowledge and experiences that have led us to this point. What, then, do we want to the future to hold? Im excited to visit with you more.
Thank you Alex for putting this together to keep us informed. Also thanks to Mr. John for putting the meeting together. Alex, I spoke with Nikki at the office of soil and water conservation the other day and she is going to look for the maps we have of the Mermentau River water shed and its contributories for Jeff Davis Parish and leading into Cameron Parish. She is also going to look for watershed and drainage plans that have been written or proposed in the past.
Tim Wild
Jeff Davis Soil and Water Conservation District
Tim, thanks for the feedback. Bill also mentioned contacting NRCS for the information you described. i will call their office this week. talk soon