Stimulus funds expected for Catahoula pond
Published 12:34am Sunday, May 10, 2009JONESVILLE, La. — The Catahoula National Wildlife reserve is waiting on a large chunk of funds promised by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D).
As part of $3.5 million in fish and wildlife investment for Louisiana, the refuge is expecting $500,000 for the installation of new water wells, a water system and water control structures that would turn an old minnow pond into a duck habitat.
“The preservation of wildlife habitats, swamps and marshes is a critical concern for Louisiana,” Landrieu said in a press release.
“I am committed to protecting our state’s natural environment so that …residents and tourists continue to enjoy the beauty indigenous to Louisiana.”
But Refuge Manager Robbie Daley said the refuge has not received the funds or been told when to expect them.
The money, which is part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, has been stretched a little too thin.
“They were over their target amounts, and the funds are being held at this point,” Daley said.
The projects submitted for funding by the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Department were numerous, and they were ranked into different categories by necessity and type.
The Catahoula NWR project’s category was short on funds.
“There’s not $500,000 left for a single project,” Daley said. “It would have to be spread out to all of them.”
Daley said $500,000 would be more than enough to cover the costs of turning the old minnow pond into a duck habitat.
The project, which was put in the refuge’s comprehensive conservation plan in 2007, calls for cleaning up and refurbishing the area to provide a better place for the refuge’s ducks to live, and it would increase the manageability of the area.
“The size would not increase from what it is currently, but it would expand what we are able to manage,” Daley said. “It’s about 120 acres, and about 20 acres of that is effectively managed right now.”
But the refuge would have to use all $500,000 on the pond project because that’s what the funds were approved for.
“These projects are very expensive, and while it’s a wide scope, there’s a lot of work that can be done under the project,” Daley said. “There are levee works, water control structures and installing the wells.”
