Valero Energy & Pontchartrain Conservancy Partnership

About the Program
Valero Energy & Pontchartrain Conservancy Partnership program is located on about 150,000 acres of estuary that are currently restoration ready at multiple site in and around St. Charles Parish and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Valero has partnered with the Pontchartrain Conservancy, which works to restore coastal habitat areas in Louisiana that were once swamp but have degraded over time either naturally or by humans. Since the start of the five-year project, they have restored approximately 52.5 acres, but over the course of the project, they are targeting the restoration of 140 acres. 

Practices and Impacts

• Approximately 5,300 trees were planted between 2021 and 2022 across five areas. Over 1,000 trees were tagged across all areas, and 300 newly tagged trees added to the tree monitoring program. Between 2022 and 2023, 3,950 trees were planted planted. Tree species planted included: bald cypress, water tupelo, green ash, red maple, red swamp maple and blackgum tupelo.
• Environmental monitoring began in the summer of 2022. Pontchartrain Conservancy monitored for soil salinity, vegetative communities, soil properties (bulk density, % organic matter) and elevation.
• A water elevation logger was installed in the LeBranche Wetlands in the fall of 2022 for year one.