Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative Guidelines

By: Gulf Engineers and Consultants

Coastal forests in Louisiana have long been recognized as valuable for the goods and services that they provide. However, since coastal forests have become increasingly vulnerable to pressures from natural and anthropogenic forces, these critical habitats are in danger of being lost. The CFCI is a completely voluntary program. The primary objective of the CFCI is to acquire land rights (fee title or conservation servitude) from willing landowners to address demonstrated threats of conversion (habitat loss or land-use change) and/or opportunities for restoration or enhanced sustainability of coastal forest tracts that provide significant ecological value and that may provide storm damage reduction functions. This initiative provides benefits to both the landowner and the public and considers all native forest types including baldcypress-tupelo and other swamps, live oak natural levee forests, coastal live oak-hackberry forests (cheniers), bottomland hardwood forests, barrier island live oak forests (maritime forests), mixed pine hardwood forests, longleaf pine savannahs, salt dome hardwood forests, or other native forest communities which also rank highly within the prioritization process.

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