LAKE CHARLES - Concrete pilings are being turned into an artificial oyster reef in Calcasieu Lake, where coastal erosion and changes made by people have made the area less welcoming to oysters and other marine life.

  

Coastal Conservation Association habitat committee chairman John Walter says that once all the pilings were placed in parallel rows, crushed concrete would be added. He tells the American Press that the work will go into the coming week.

  

Walter says the pilings will provide shelter from predators and create a strong current to bring food to the stationary bivalves.

  

His group is splitting the $350,000 cost with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.