Chenier Plain Initiative Area

Chenier Plain Initiative Team
Mike Rezsutek, Co-Chairperson, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Bob Dew, Co-Chairperson, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Chenier Plain Initiative Area is a rich and complex mixture of wetlands, uplands, and open water that extends roughly 200 miles from Vermilion Bay, Louisiana, to Galveston Bay, Texas (see map at right). It runs from the expansive coastal marshes bordering the Gulf of Mexico shore, inland for 40 to 70 miles through the coastal prairie into areas of intensive rice cultivation. Geographically it includes the Louisiana parishes of Cameron, Calcasieu, Vermilion, Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Allen, and Evangeline, and the Texas counties of Chambers, Jefferson, Orange, and Liberty. Very small portions of Galveston and Harris Counties are also included at the western edge of the Texas segment. Paralleling the coastline are old beach ridges known as cheniers that are characteristic of the area and form natural levees, bordering an immense marsh. Lying within this marsh zone are great estuarine lakes such as White, Grand, Calcasieu, and Sabine. The entire Chenier Plain Initiative Area covers well over 10,000 square miles or approximately 6.5 million acres.

GCJV Bird Conservation Plans for Chenier Plain Initiative Area

To download plan, right click document name and select Save Target/Link As and choose local directory destination.

Chenier Plain Initiative Area Implementation Plan (PDF)
GCJV Landbird Plan (PDF)
GCJV Shorebird Plan (Microsoft Word Doc)
Mottled Duck Conservation Plan (PDF)
Reddish Egret Plan (Word Doc)

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