An airboat carrying U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents and volunteers heads to a tree-planting location in the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge near Slidell on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. Volunteers and members of the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planted more than 8,000 trees to help with erosion control in marsh devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The trees are being planted in association with the Bayou Bonfouca Marsh Restoration Project as part of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, marshes on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain suffered extensive damage from storm surge. The storm inundated barrier marshes with salt water and created avenues for erosion. Since then, the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force identified areas on the North-shore that are key to protecting coastal communities from storms. CWPPRA completed the Bayou Bonfouca Marsh Restoration project in February 2018. Using sediment pumped from Lake Pontchartrain, the CWPPRA Bayou Bonfouca Marsh Creation project created over 1,000 acres of marsh and high elevation ground that support trees, in which was once open water ponds. Restoration of this wetland area will improve shoreline stability for residents of St. Tammany Parish, and support waterfowl and estuarine fish habitat for future generations. Restoration efforts continue to ensure that the CWPPRA Bayou Bonfouca Marsh Creation project is a success.