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Workshop Goals
The objectives of the Oyster RestorationProject Targeting Workshop were to: 1)select a small number of oyster restora-tion projects,
with at least one fromeach parish
 , to be taken forward to amore detailed assessment of implemen-tation feasibility; and 2) begin discus-sions of the obstacles and solutions forimplementing these projects.The workshop represents the second of three major activities that comprise theBarataria/Terrebonne ImplementationAssessment which is part of the Shell-fish Challenge Project (see insert). Thefirst activity was a series of four Stake-holder Meetings held in November
An Oyster Restoration Project TargetingWorkshop, co-hosted by the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program,EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Program, NichollsState University, and NOAA’s StrategicEnvironmental Assessments Division, washeld in Thibodaux, LA on February 24 and25, 1997. Over 60 attendees representing parish governments, the oyster industry,state and federal agencies, academia, localenvironmental organizations and otherinterested stakeholders, worked together tonominate
eight priority oyster restora-tion projects
from an initial list of 61candidates. Each project, if implemented,will lead to progress in meeting the Gulf Program’s Shellfish Challenge. The nextstep in moving these projects forward is toidentify local champions, stakeholders, andkey decisionmakers for each project, and toassess in more detail the factors affecting feasibility.
1996 during which participants identi-fied 102 candidate restoration projectsin the Barataria and Terrebonne basins.The 102 projects were consolidated into61 projects prior to the workshop byeliminating duplicate suggestions andcombining similar projects. The thirdactivity will be the “implementationfeasibility assessments” for the priorityoyster restoration projects.
Workshop Process
The workshop was conducted in threesessions. First, participants heard brief summaries of the 61 candidate projects,presented by basin. Twenty-fiveprojects were located in the Barataria basin, 27 in the Terrebonne basin, andnine projects were considered to be basinwide in their impact. The shellfishgrowing water classification processwas described, and project selectioncriteria presented. Participants werethen asked to prioritize the projects byvoting for six projects in each basin, andtwo basinwide projects.The projects identified by this votingprocess then formed the basis for basin-level breakout sessions. In thesesessions, facilitated by local experts,participants used a standard set of criteria related to the potential toincrease productive shellfish areas, thepotential to build project support, costand financing, and impacts on waterquality and public health to guide theirdiscussions. The projects selectedformed the basis for the third workshopsession—discussing the obstacles toimplementing projects.
Results
The priority projects selected by theworkshop participants are shown onthe map above, and in the table (nextpage). Although only the top eightprojects will be carried forward in thefinal phase, the overall inventory of 61projects represents a robust set of oysterrestoration opportunities for futureevaluation.
Gulf of Mexico Program’s Shellfish Challenge: March 1997 Project Update
What is the Shellfish Challenge? 
The goal of the Gulf of Mexico Program’sShellfish Challenge Project is to “increaseGulf shellfish beds available for safe harvestby 10 percent.” Since 1995, the Programhas worked to bring together federal, state,and local stakeholders using strategicassessment to examine the problems causingharvest limitations of shellfish growingwaters, and identify solutions on a regionalscale. The Program is now working totranslate these regional strategies intoaction within priority watersheds throughinitiatives such as the Barataria/TerrebonneImplementation Assessment.The five geographically targeted projects in the Barataria-Terrebonne basins.
35381112
Barataria BayTerrebonne Bay
Priority Basin-Level Projects11. Grand Bayou12. Wilkinson Canal19. Hackberry Bay35. Larose to Golden Meadow38. Bayou Petit Caillou
19
Identifying Priority Oyster Restoration Projects in theBarataria-Terrebonne Basins
By focusing on solutions, rather than problems, participants achieved the goals of the workshop.
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