Robert S. Jones Papers

Robert “Bob” Sperry Jones was born to George Edward Jones and Sara Lee Sperry Jones in New Orleans, Louisiana on 10 September, 1951. His father was a civil engineer and surveyor for Chevron Corporation, having served at one point as President of the National Surveyors Association, and his mother was a nurse. He attended Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans and later graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he majored in Civil Engineering. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree, Jones served three years as an engineer for Ebasco Services (New York), and from March 1976 to May 1982 he worked with Hooker Chemical Corporation (New Orleans) as a Field Engineering Supervisor and Project Engineer. In October of 1982, Jones joined the Public Works Department of the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government as Parish Engineer, a position he would hold for over twenty years. His duties as parish engineer included administration of capital projects, review of subdivision engineering plans, drainage, flood control, marsh restoration, and maintenance of barrier islands. Through his work with the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Jones helped to develop the first barrier island restoration project in Louisiana. The project, a plan to restore Isles Dernières, would later become a model for successive restoration projects on the Louisiana coast. Jones advocated for the awareness of land loss due to coastal erosion, as well as the restoration of coastal areas affected by erosion through his involvement with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (which he served as Executive Board member, Secretary, and Vice Chairman) and his representation of the Terrebonne Parish president on the board of directors for the National Wetlands Coalition. In 1988, Jones was awarded the James M. Todd Technological Accomplishment Medal by the Louisiana Engineering Society in recognition of his work in barrier island preservation and restoration. Jones served as a member of the National Society of Engineers, the Louisiana Shore and Beach Preservation Association, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, the Louisiana Association of Professional Engineers, and Chi Epsilon, the Honorary Civil Engineering Fraternity. Jones died on March 10, 2004, in Montegut, Louisiana at the age of 52.

In March 1985, Terrebonne Parish launched its first barrier island restoration project, then known as Eastern Isle Dernières Back Barrier Marsh Construction Project No. 1. The project, led by Bob Jones and Jim Edmonson, combined common materials (sand, silt, sand fence, and vegetation) to create a protective structure on an eroding barrier island. Embankments were constructed from the island’s existing materials, while dredged materials were pumped in to fill excavated areas. The completed project resulted in the creation of a 3,200 foot long dune with an elevation of 8 feet facing the Gulf of Mexico. In the summer of 1985, an experimental vegetation and sand fence program began as a summer employment program for local students, and dune grass planting was continued the following summer. The island endured three hurricane surges in the year following completion of the project (Hurricanes Danny, Elena, and Juan), losing only a portion of its dune to Hurricane Juan. The success of the first restoration project resulted in the funding and completion of more coastal restoration projects in Terrebonne Parish. In addition to serving as the blueprint for local projects, it was also chosen as the model for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Phase I Coastal Protection Strategy. It is considered one of the first successful barrier island restoration projects in United States history.

In 1990, Congress passed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) to fund wetland restoration projects across the United States, including barrier island restoration. Following the passage of CWPPRA, Terrebonne Parish applied for and received funding for several barrier island restoration projects through CWPPRA.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana was formed in the mid-1980s as a non-profit advocacy organization with the mission to restore and protect a sustainable Louisiana coast. In addition to educating the public on the impact of land loss and challenges of restoration, the Coalition set out to actively participate in efforts to enact restoration projects.

The National Estuary Program was established with the Clean Water Act of 1987 as a program of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public water supply, recreational activities, and wildlife dependent on estuaries. In 1990, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program was chartered as one of the NEP’s local programs with a mission to develop a coalition of government, private, and commercial interests for the preservation of the Barataria and Terrebonne basins.