In Lockport, a water gate was constructed on Bayou Lafourche to mitigate the amount of salt water invading the bayou during periods of low tide. In 2016, Bayou Lafourche was dredged from Donaldsonville to Napoleonville of vegetation and sediment that constricted the surface area of the water. Mississippi River reintroduction Ī long-term project to revitalize Bayou Lafourche with an increased flow of fresh water from the Mississippi River and halt the accelerated loss of land down the bayou is currently in progress. Dam walls at the end of the bayou were closed to prevent a storm surge of salt water from entering. On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Lafourche parish. Bollinger, was launched on Bayou Lafourche in 1946. The Bollinger Shipyards, founded by Donald G. It changed the formerly flowing bayou into a stagnant ditch. The dam cut off nourishment and replenishment of a huge wetland area of central Louisiana. It was formerly a Mississippi River outlet ( distributary), but was dammed at Donaldsonville in 1905. The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Écores, which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture. The name Lafourche is from the French for 'the fork', and alludes to the bayou's large outflow of Mississippi River water.

Ascension on the bayou