Urban Waters Mapping, NOLA

Welcome to the New Orleans Urban Waters Restoration Mapping Project page. This project was funded in part by the EPA Urban Waters Small Grant Program. This community mapping project aimed to maps eight urban restoration sites around New Orleans. Learn more about the sites and visit the maps made in this project below!

Interested in monitoring a wetland site? Check out the Wetlands Toolkit!

About the project

This data from this project has been collected, compiled and organized by volunteer efforts of the New Orleans Public Lab Community. Between 2014 and 2015 Gulf Coast Public Labbers work to map the eight urban water restoration sites twice. This page hosts the maps and images that came from the proejct. Read more about our project in this article by Chris Staudinger from the NOLA Defender and this research note.

Overall

33 data sets were collected of the eight wetland sites amounting to over 25,000 images,
367 community researchers participated in this project (see photos here!)
18 maps were created, along with 7 pole map collages, and
33 Gulf Coast meet-ups were held to support the efforts of this project.

Project Partners and Collaborators:

Audubon Nature Institute Nature Center - Backyard Gardeners Network - Broadmoor Improvement Association - Gulf Restoration Network - Louisiana State University AgCenter - Rosa F. Keller Public Library and Community Center - Groundwork New Orleans - IDIYA - LaBranch Wetland Watchers - Lake Pontchartrain Basin Association - Louisiana Master Naturalists - New Orleans Center for Creative Arts - New Orleans Sewer and Water Board - Propeller - Waggonner and Ball Architects - Water Works

Bayou St. John at Lake Pontchartrain

Bayou St John is an urban Scenic River and site of post-Katrina saltwater marsh restoration, including many locations of urban shoreline re-vegetation with Scirpus and Spartina species in coordination with the Bayou St John Scenic river restoration plan, the LSU AgCenter, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and many community partners. In part due to these improvements, the area is becoming an increasingly popular urban recreation destination. Detailed documentation can encourage continued restoration and maintenance of existing restoration efforts.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
10/11/14	Mapknitter Map	Dan Beavers, Dan Henry and Brandi Caro	Joneya Thompson, Catherine Nguyen and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
5/30/15	Mapknitter Map	David Flores, Diana Di Leonardo, Molly Gordon, Stevie Lewis and Harley King	Diana Di Leonardo and Liz Barry

Bayou St. John Scenic Urban Waterway

Bayou St John Scenic Urban Waterway is a site of urban shoreline re-vegetation. The site is an increasingly favored location for outdoor recreation of tremendously varied kinds, from dog walking to canoeing and kayaking to fishing, boat races and musical festivals. With high public interest and participation through this project, detailed documentation will encourage the continued restoration and maintenance of restoration efforts.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
11/11/14	Pole Mapping Collage	Scott Eustis	Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
1/24/15	Pole Mapping Collage	Lauren Sullivan, Grace Cagle, Mica, Troy, Diana Di Leonardo, Scott Eustis and Stevie Lewis	Liz Barry

Stormwater Wetlands at City Park

Stormwater Wetlands in City Park is a site that embodies many of New Orleans’ urban water issues and goals. The area is subject to much subsidence and ongoing problems from unmanaged stormwater. The "Living with Water" strategy re-envisions water infrastructure as aesthetic, ecological, and geological improvements, and a way to reduce damages from flooding and induced subsidence, and increase property values and quality of life. In an attempt to create a pilot project for the Living with Water scenario, City Park and LSU AgCenter created a stormwater wetland here.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
10/20/14	Mapknitter Map	Travis Haas, William Byram,Elias James Carrier, Lynda Cortez, Rory Cummings-Dise, Nicholas Dayton, Landry Duchane, Connor Egan,Paul Gale, Morgan-Me'Lyn Grant, Jenna Guidry, Caitlyn Harris, Victoria Hecker, Madison Kerth, James King, Carli Kirtland, Mignon Mauduit, Caleb McKay, Kiersten Moore, Jamie Morris, Connie New, Lindsey Rhodes, Marley Saffrhan, Celine Seiber, Immanuel Simon, Clara Souvignier, Amberly Stuart, Nina Tauriac, Halle Wood, Zenobia Zeno, and Stevie Lewis	Stevie Lewis and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
10/20/14	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	Travis Haas, William Byram,Elias James Carrier, Lynda Cortez, Rory Cummings-Dise, Nicholas Dayton, Landry Duchane, Connor Egan,Paul Gale, Morgan-Me'Lyn Grant, Jenna Guidry, Caitlyn Harris, Victoria Hecker, Madison Kerth, James King, Carli Kirtland, Mignon Mauduit, Caleb McKay, Kiersten Moore, Jamie Morris, Connie New, Lindsey Rhodes, Marley Saffrhan, Celine Seiber, Immanuel Simon, Clara Souvignier, Amberly Stuart, Nina Tauriac, Halle Wood, Zenobia Zeno, and Stevie Lewis	Jack Faust, Meghan Speakman and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
5/30/15	Mapknitter Map	David Flores, Diana Di Leonardo, Molly Gordon, Stevie Lewis and Harley King	Diana Di Leonardo and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
5/30/15	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	David Flores, Diana Di Leonardo, Molly Gordon, Stevie Lewis and Harley King	David Flores and Liz Barry

Bayou Bienvenue Shoreline Restoration

Bayou Bienvenue Shoreline Restoration site shows the marsh shorelines are an aesthetic and ecological improvement to the armored, rubbled, and/or eroded banklines there were historically in place. Community planting of this rubble shoreline was begun during the government shutdown in 2013, and the bullrush have begun to flourish. There is a great deal of community activity and interest in the site for recreation and educational uses.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
7/10/15	Pole Mapping Collage	Victoria Gillam, Holly Fraychineaud, Iman Neal, Emily Zielke, Lavan Woodberry, Zury Wilson, Larry Shell, Alicia Neal, Andrew Wilson and Stevie Lewis	Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
7/10/15	Near Infrared Pole Mapping Collage	Victoria Gillam, Holly Fraychineaud, Iman Neal, Emily Zielke, Lavan Woodberry, Zury Wilson, Larry Shell, Alicia Neal, Andrew Wilson and Stevie Lewis	Liz Barry

Bayou Bienvenue Waste Water Treatment Plant

Bayou Bienvenue/Central Wetlands Treated Biosolids Restoration is a site with a lot of interest! Bayou Bienvenue is an urban, intermediate Bayou and the Bayou Bienvenue wetland triangle (BBWT) is an adjacent former Cypress swamp destroyed by impoundment and saltwater intrusion. Post-Katrina, the site has been subjected to saltwater marsh restoration attempts of many kinds, including created wetlands for biosolids and wastewater treatment, and shoreline re-vegetation with Scirpus and Spartina species, and proposals for additional mechanical fill for hardwood, swamp, and emergent marsh as well as and floating marsh restoration. These various restoration efforts have been done in coordination with Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Common Ground Wetlands program, LSU AgCenter, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, visiting Universities, and many other national and community partners. Due to these improvements and attention, the Bayou is increasingly favored location for outdoor recreation, from fishing to canoeing and kayaking and hunting.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
10/11/14	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	Gerald McCollam, Leslie Williams, Molly Gordon and Claire Loudis	Molly Gordon and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
7/10/15	Mapknitter Map	Victoria Gillam, Holly Fraychineaud, Iman Neal, Emily Zielke, Lavan Woodberry, Zury Wilson, Larry Shell, Alicia Neal, Andrew Wilson and Stevie Lewis	Stevie Lewis and Liz Barry

South Shore Restoration Site

South Shore Marsh Restoration site includes several dispersed community restoration plantings of Spartina alterniflora done in New Orleans East on the south shore of the oligohaline Lake Pontchartrain. These plantings have persisted through several named coastal storms in 2008 and 2012, and provide habitat for estuarine species along an otherwise neglected urban shoreline. These marshes, while small, have persisted beyond their project life, despite being in a high-energy shoreline line in relatively deep water. The site provides an example of how other armored shorelines in the New Orleans metro area can increase habitat value with relatively small, garden-scale, community-based efforts.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
4/18/15	Pole Mapping Collage	Dan Beavers, Diana Di Leonardo and Stevie Lewis	Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
4/18/15	Near Infrared Pole Mapping Collage	Dan Beavers, Diana Di Leonardo and Stevie Lewis	Liz Barry

Louisiana Nature Center

The Louisiana Nature Center is an urban site of post-Katrina cypress forest restoration, which includes invasive tallow control and cypress planting efforts. The wetland site is under considerable drainage of the New Orleans East Polder, but still provides forest canopy for migrating birds. Many hope that this site will flourish as a restored cypress forest. There is a long history of naturalist interest in this site, and a long record of weekly bird counts.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
10/11/14	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	Scott Eustis, Tim McLean, Lauren Sullivan and Amy LeGaux	Scott Eustis and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
6/9/15	Mapknitter Map	Molly Gordon and Stevie Lewis	Molly Gordon and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
6/9/15	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	Molly Gordon and Stevie Lewis	Stevie Lewis and Liz Barry

Wetland Watchers Park

Wetland Watchers Park is an educational and recreational park reclaimed from the Lake Pontchartrain bottom. It is the site of a reforestation project between the Bonnet Carre Spillway and Bayou LaBranche, as well as historic and recent marsh restoration projects. This swamp and marsh site (formerly a freshwater swamp, with a remnant canopy) is subject to much shoreline erosion and ecological change, as well as freshwater inputs from Bayou LaBranche and the Bonnet Carre Spillway. The park facilities themselves are designed to be flooded, as they were during Hurricane Isaac in 2012. The park is regularly used by New Orleans area grade and high schools for wetland education.

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
12/13/14	Mapknitter Map	Will Veatch, Gerald McCollam, Scott Eustis and Stevie Lewis	Alexis Smith, Lauren Alleman and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
7/11/15	Mapknitter Map	Grace Cagle, Scott Eustis, Miriam Belblidia, Stevie Lewis and Diana Di Leonardo	Scott Eustis and Liz Barry

Collected	Type	Mappers	Cartographers
7/11/15	Near Infrared Mapknitter Map	Grace Cagle, Scott Eustis, Miriam Belblidia, Stevie Lewis and Diana Di Leonardo	Liz Barry

Public Lab Wiki documentation