An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 5, 2010

Louisiana Guard restores coast with tree drop

By Sgt. Michael L. Owens Louisiana National Guard

NEW ORLEANS - The Louisiana National Guard participated in the annual Christmas tree drop at the Bayou Sauvage Wildlife Refuge in eastern New Orleans March 30.

The Louisiana National Guard's 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment partnered with the city of New Orleans and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and placed bundles of recycled Christmas trees in the refuge's wetlands in an effort to help fight erosion.

Using four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, the Guardsmen successfully hooked, lifted and dropped nearly 170 bundles, averaging between 50 and 100 trees each, and placed them in stacks forming barriers against waves when the water starts to get rough.

"The purpose of the trees is to serve as a breakwater," said Wynecta Fisher, director of the New Orleans Office of Environmental Affairs. "They actually break the waves."

Another purpose of the operation is for the trees to trap silt, so that new plants and trees can grow in order to help restore the wetlands.

"We are actually placing the trees in the same spot as last year," said Drew Wirwa, of the FWS and manager of Bayou Sauvage. "You can see where some of last year's trees scattered as a result of waves; we want to replace them with new ones in order to keep the barriers fresh and to create sediment for new plant life."

The Louisiana National Guard's State Aviation Command has assisted in this effort since it started in 1989. New Orleans and FWS officials have expressed their gratitude towards the Guard's efforts in this project.

"I am very grateful and appreciative of the Louisiana National Guard," said Fisher. "We definitely could not accomplish any of this without their help and support."

As the pilots hovered over the readied bundles, the Guardsmen on the ground, Blackhawk crew members, placed a strap around the cargo hook at the bottom of the aircraft. Once the helicopter reached its destination, the crew member inside the aircraft released the load to fall into its spot.

After the trees were dropped, staff members of the refuge scrambled to free them from the harnesses that were used for the lifting operation.

In other parishes, the trees are carried by boat to their location but due to the shallow marsh areas in New Orleans, they must be lifted and dropped by helicopter.

"An average Blackhawk can lift about 8,000 pounds," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Stephen L. Maldonado, a pilot with the 1/244th. "Each bundle weighs about 2,500 pounds, so we are not lifting nearly half of what we can."

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...