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."