Story ID: 
Heavy-lift Helos Helping in Gulf Restoration
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Heavy-lift helicopters from private contractors and the military are  continuing to play a critical role in restoring the Gulf of Mexico’s  ecosystem in th
Word Count: 114
Heavy-lift helicopters from private contractors and the military are  continuing to play a critical role in restoring the Gulf of Mexico’s  ecosystem in the wake of the BP oil spill. Last month, Columbia  Helicopters flew a pair of Boeing Vertol 107-IIs equipped with brush  grapples to remove sections of hard and soft boom that had been placed  to protect estuaries from encroaching oil. The Vertols have been on site  since May and were initially used to construct a 35-mile sandbag island  to protect sensitive wetlands along the Louisiana coast. That effort  included a pair of VIH Cougar Sikorsky S-61Ns, along with Black Hawks  from the Florida, Illinois and Louisiana National Guard units.