Holly Beck is currently a Geographer with the Coastal Restoration Assessment Branch of the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Gainesville, Florida.
Her duties include remote sensing and GIS analysis of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Past projects have included various historical land change analyses and wetland morphology modeling. She hails from the mountains of Pennsylvania and the beaches of New Jersey but has made her home in the swamps of Florida.
Science and Products
Spatial Analysis of Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Projects
As the first federally mandated restoration program, Louisiana enacted the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis.
Filter Total Items: 56
South Lake Lery Shoreline and Marsh Restoration (BS-16): 2012 and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) 2021 land-water classification data, Eastern Louisiana
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring efforts to determine the efficacy of these efforts. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitor
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015/2016, 2018, and 2021 land-water matrices, Eastern Louisiana
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring to determine the efficacy of these projects. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitoring. Th
West Lake Boudreaux Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation (TE-46): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
South White Lake Shoreline Protection (ME-22): 2005 and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
West Bay Sediment Diversion (MR-03): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Boat ramp locations in the United States of America
The dataset provides point locations of many boat ramp locations in the United States accessible to the public.
Hopedale Hydrologic Restoration (PO-24): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Sediment trapping at "The Jaws" (TV-15): 2008, 2015, and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Cole's Bayou Marsh Restoration (TV-63): 2018 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Naomi Outfall Management (BA-0003c), Barataria Bay Waterway East Side Shoreline Protection (BA-0026), and Naomi Freshwater Diversion (BA-0003): 2018 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arresting
Riverine Sand Mining/Scofield Island Restoration (BA-40): 2014 habitat classification
This data set includes mosaicked aerial photographs for the Riverine Sand Mining/Scofield Island Restoration (BA-40) project for 2014. This data is used as a basemap habitat classification. If repeated, it can also serve as a visual tool for project managers to help them identify any obvious problems or land loss within their project boundary. To better evaluate the effectiveness of restoration ef
Land area change in coastal Louisiana (1932 to 2016)
Coastal Louisiana wetlands are one of the most critically threatened environments in the United States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently experiences greater coastal wetland loss than all other States in the contiguous United States combined. The analyses of landscape change presented here have utilized historical surveys, aerial, and satellite data to quantify landscape chan
Land area change in coastal Louisiana from 1932 to 2010
Coastal Louisiana wetlands make up the seventh largest delta on Earth, contain about 37 percent of the estuarine herbaceous marshes in the conterminous United States, and support the largest commercial fishery in the lower 48 States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently undergoes about 90 percent of the total coastal wetland loss in the continental United States. Documenting and
Aboveground and belowground vegetation biomass and nutrients
Wetland biomass production, decomposition, and storage of organic matter govern
estuarine energy transfer, in addition to determining the physical sustainability of marshes
exposed to sea-level rise and subsidence. Peak standing biomass represents an indicator
of wetland production or productivity but does not account for turnover (production and
decomposition) of different pools of biomass with t
Authors
Todd M. Folse, Thomas E. McGinnis, Leigh A. Sharp, Jonathan L. West, Melissa K. Hymel, John P. Troutman, Dona Weifenbach, William M. Boshart, Laurie B. Rodrigue, Danielle C. Richardi, W. Bernard Wood, C. Mike Miller, Elizabeth M. Robinson, Angelina M. Freeman, Camille Stagg, Brady Couvillion, Holly Beck
Imagery
As part of CRMS, Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQs) for the coastal region of Louisiana are created for years when coastwide land-water classifications are required. A DOQQ is a raster image in which displacement in the image caused by sensor orientation and terrain relief has been corrected. These images combine the image characteristics of a photo with the geometric qualities of a ma
Authors
Todd M. Folse, Thomas E. McGinnis, Leigh A. Sharp, Jonathan L. West, Melissa K. Hymel, John P. Troutman, Dona Weifenbach, William M. Boshart, Laurie B. Rodrigue, Danielle C. Richardi, W. Bernard Wood, C. Mike Miller, Elizabeth M. Robinson, Angelina M. Freeman, Camille Stagg, Brady Couvillion, Holly Beck
Spatial configuration trends in coastal Louisiana from 1985 to 2010
From 1932 to 2010, coastal Louisiana has experienced a net loss of 4877 km2 of wetlands. As the area of these wetlands has changed, so too has the spatial configuration of the landscape. The resulting landscape is a mosaic of patches of wetlands and open water. This study examined the spatial and temporal variability of trajectories of landscape configuration and the relation of those patterns to
Authors
Brady Couvillion, Michelle Fischer, Holly J. Beck, William J. Sleavin
Forecasting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on elevation and accretion in Louisiana deltaic wetlands under future environmental uncertainty scenarios
Large sediment diversions are proposed and expected to build new wetlands to alleviate the extensive wetland loss (5,000 km2) affecting coastal Louisiana during the last 78 years. Current assessment and prediction of the impacts of sediment diversions have focused on the capture and dispersal of both water and sediment on the adjacent river side and the immediate outfall marsh area. However, littl
Authors
Hongqing Wang, Gregory D. Steyer, Brady R. Couvillion, John M. Rybczyk, Holly J. Beck, William J. Sleavin, Ehab A. Meselhe, Mead A. Allison, Ronald G. Boustany, Craig J. Fischenich, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
Forecasting the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology in coastal Louisiana under multiple environmental uncertainty scenarios
Few landscape scale models have assessed the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology while taking into account important uncertainties in environmental factors such as sea-level rise (SLR) and subsidence. In support of Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, we developed a spatially explicit wetland morphology model and coupled it with other predictive models. Th
Authors
Brady R. Couvillion, Gregory D. Steyer, Hongqing Wang, Holly J. Beck, John M. Rybczyk
Marsh collapse thresholds for coastal Louisiana estimated using elevation and vegetation index data
Forecasting marsh collapse in coastal Louisiana as a result of changes in sea-level rise, subsidence, and accretion deficits necessitates an understanding of thresholds beyond which inundation stress impedes marsh survival. The variability in thresholds at which different marsh types cease to occur (i.e., marsh collapse) is not well understood. We utilized remotely sensed imagery, field data, and
Authors
Brady R. Couvillion, Holly Beck
Landscape change and relative elevation sub-models
No abstract available
Authors
Gregory D. Steyer, Brady Couvillion, Hongqing Wang, William J. Sleavin, John M. Rybczyk, Nadine Trahan, Holly Beck, Craig J. Fischenich, Ronald G. Boustany, Yvonne C. Allen
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
Spatial Analysis of Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Projects
As the first federally mandated restoration program, Louisiana enacted the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis. - Data
Filter Total Items: 56
South Lake Lery Shoreline and Marsh Restoration (BS-16): 2012 and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingCoastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) 2021 land-water classification data, Eastern Louisiana
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring efforts to determine the efficacy of these efforts. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitorCoastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015/2016, 2018, and 2021 land-water matrices, Eastern Louisiana
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring to determine the efficacy of these projects. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitoring. ThWest Lake Boudreaux Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation (TE-46): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingSouth White Lake Shoreline Protection (ME-22): 2005 and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingWest Bay Sediment Diversion (MR-03): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingBoat ramp locations in the United States of America
The dataset provides point locations of many boat ramp locations in the United States accessible to the public.Hopedale Hydrologic Restoration (PO-24): 2021 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingSediment trapping at "The Jaws" (TV-15): 2008, 2015, and 2018 land-water classifications
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingCole's Bayou Marsh Restoration (TV-63): 2018 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingNaomi Outfall Management (BA-0003c), Barataria Bay Waterway East Side Shoreline Protection (BA-0026), and Naomi Freshwater Diversion (BA-0003): 2018 land-water classification
The Louisiana State Legislature created the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in order to conserve, restore, create and enhance Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetland restoration plans developed pursuant to these acts specifically require an evaluation of the effectiveness of each coastal wetlands restoration project in achieving long-term solutions to arrestingRiverine Sand Mining/Scofield Island Restoration (BA-40): 2014 habitat classification
This data set includes mosaicked aerial photographs for the Riverine Sand Mining/Scofield Island Restoration (BA-40) project for 2014. This data is used as a basemap habitat classification. If repeated, it can also serve as a visual tool for project managers to help them identify any obvious problems or land loss within their project boundary. To better evaluate the effectiveness of restoration ef - Maps
Land area change in coastal Louisiana (1932 to 2016)
Coastal Louisiana wetlands are one of the most critically threatened environments in the United States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently experiences greater coastal wetland loss than all other States in the contiguous United States combined. The analyses of landscape change presented here have utilized historical surveys, aerial, and satellite data to quantify landscape chanLand area change in coastal Louisiana from 1932 to 2010
Coastal Louisiana wetlands make up the seventh largest delta on Earth, contain about 37 percent of the estuarine herbaceous marshes in the conterminous United States, and support the largest commercial fishery in the lower 48 States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently undergoes about 90 percent of the total coastal wetland loss in the continental United States. Documenting and - Publications
Aboveground and belowground vegetation biomass and nutrients
Wetland biomass production, decomposition, and storage of organic matter govern estuarine energy transfer, in addition to determining the physical sustainability of marshes exposed to sea-level rise and subsidence. Peak standing biomass represents an indicator of wetland production or productivity but does not account for turnover (production and decomposition) of different pools of biomass with tAuthorsTodd M. Folse, Thomas E. McGinnis, Leigh A. Sharp, Jonathan L. West, Melissa K. Hymel, John P. Troutman, Dona Weifenbach, William M. Boshart, Laurie B. Rodrigue, Danielle C. Richardi, W. Bernard Wood, C. Mike Miller, Elizabeth M. Robinson, Angelina M. Freeman, Camille Stagg, Brady Couvillion, Holly BeckImagery
As part of CRMS, Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQs) for the coastal region of Louisiana are created for years when coastwide land-water classifications are required. A DOQQ is a raster image in which displacement in the image caused by sensor orientation and terrain relief has been corrected. These images combine the image characteristics of a photo with the geometric qualities of a maAuthorsTodd M. Folse, Thomas E. McGinnis, Leigh A. Sharp, Jonathan L. West, Melissa K. Hymel, John P. Troutman, Dona Weifenbach, William M. Boshart, Laurie B. Rodrigue, Danielle C. Richardi, W. Bernard Wood, C. Mike Miller, Elizabeth M. Robinson, Angelina M. Freeman, Camille Stagg, Brady Couvillion, Holly BeckSpatial configuration trends in coastal Louisiana from 1985 to 2010
From 1932 to 2010, coastal Louisiana has experienced a net loss of 4877 km2 of wetlands. As the area of these wetlands has changed, so too has the spatial configuration of the landscape. The resulting landscape is a mosaic of patches of wetlands and open water. This study examined the spatial and temporal variability of trajectories of landscape configuration and the relation of those patterns toAuthorsBrady Couvillion, Michelle Fischer, Holly J. Beck, William J. SleavinForecasting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on elevation and accretion in Louisiana deltaic wetlands under future environmental uncertainty scenarios
Large sediment diversions are proposed and expected to build new wetlands to alleviate the extensive wetland loss (5,000 km2) affecting coastal Louisiana during the last 78 years. Current assessment and prediction of the impacts of sediment diversions have focused on the capture and dispersal of both water and sediment on the adjacent river side and the immediate outfall marsh area. However, littlAuthorsHongqing Wang, Gregory D. Steyer, Brady R. Couvillion, John M. Rybczyk, Holly J. Beck, William J. Sleavin, Ehab A. Meselhe, Mead A. Allison, Ronald G. Boustany, Craig J. Fischenich, Victor H. Rivera-MonroyForecasting the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology in coastal Louisiana under multiple environmental uncertainty scenarios
Few landscape scale models have assessed the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology while taking into account important uncertainties in environmental factors such as sea-level rise (SLR) and subsidence. In support of Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, we developed a spatially explicit wetland morphology model and coupled it with other predictive models. ThAuthorsBrady R. Couvillion, Gregory D. Steyer, Hongqing Wang, Holly J. Beck, John M. RybczykMarsh collapse thresholds for coastal Louisiana estimated using elevation and vegetation index data
Forecasting marsh collapse in coastal Louisiana as a result of changes in sea-level rise, subsidence, and accretion deficits necessitates an understanding of thresholds beyond which inundation stress impedes marsh survival. The variability in thresholds at which different marsh types cease to occur (i.e., marsh collapse) is not well understood. We utilized remotely sensed imagery, field data, andAuthorsBrady R. Couvillion, Holly BeckLandscape change and relative elevation sub-models
No abstract availableAuthorsGregory D. Steyer, Brady Couvillion, Hongqing Wang, William J. Sleavin, John M. Rybczyk, Nadine Trahan, Holly Beck, Craig J. Fischenich, Ronald G. Boustany, Yvonne C. AllenNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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