Officials say marsh restoration is complete at Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, and the refuge is now open to hunting outside the levee system.
The restoration project used sediment pumped from Lake Pontchartrain to create brackish marsh in what had been open water ponds on the refuge. The work began Aug. 31, 2016.
It was a mitigation project to make up for wetlands habitat altered by the Army Corps of Engineers during work to repair and strengthen Lake Pontchartrain levees damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
A news release Tuesday from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service says the wetland restoration will improve shoreline stability for residents of Orleans Parish, and support waterfowl and fish habitat for future generations.