City Park in New Orleans was in the lead for the national Redwood Creek Wines Greater Outdoors Project, a $50,000 grant for the preservation and redevelopment of wildlife and landscapes. The park hopes to use the funds to repair damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Voting for the contest, which is sponsored by Redwood Creek Wines, can be done once a day, until May 31, by visiting blazethetrail.com or texting PARK to 39668. As of May 26, City Park was leading by 600 votes. Four other parks are finalists.

“About 90 percent of the 1,300-acre park was flooded,” said John Hopper, chief development officer for City Park. “We have been struggling because of the flooding. We’ve had to pick ourselves up and make improvements.”

City Park sustained $43 million in damages during the hurricane. The grant would be used to replant 6,000 trees to replace the 2,000 that were lost in Couturie Forest, 62 acres of woods in the middle of the park.

Although the grant would benefit the forest, four years after the hurricane despair still remains elsewhere in City Park. For instance, the saltwater that entered the park killed or damaged  a majority of the vegetation and the grass on the three 18-hole golf courses. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined that the park’s administration building was more than 50 percent damaged and could not be restored. The staff has had to move to temporary trailer offices. Archives, computers and records have all been lost. And sections of the maintenance building collapsed, destroying all of the vehicles and equipment used for upkeep.

“We have experienced extensive damage in the park as well as a large amount of human suffering with the park employees,” Hopper said.

Before the storm, the park had 11 million visits each year. Last year, it dropped significantly to about 5 million. The lack of revenue from admission fees forced City Park to reduce its costs.

Before Katrina, City Park operated with a $10.8 million budget with 260 employees. During the recovery, park officials laid off 90 percent of its workforce. Currently, the park has a $7 million budget and 85 workers.

Even before the storm, improvements were planned to be made in accordance with the park’s master plan, City Park 2018. The $160 million proposal includes renovations, new construction and the relocation and expansion of the tennis courts. The park has raised $60 million from private donations and fundraising.

“Prior to the hurricane, people may not have felt the need to donate,” Hopper said. “Now they are calling us to provide support.”

The progress made so far has been met with positive reactions from the community. William Thompson, a senior at Metairie Park Country Day School, plans to get a lot of use out of the new facilities.

“My friends and I come here to go fishing and play football,” he said. “It will be easier to play tennis when it’s busy with a bigger court.”

The park has become a model for recovery and a return to the community that existed before the hurricane. Jutta Reinvall is one of the many locals who frequent the park several times a week since it reopened in February 2007.

“So many things are not far along in New Orleans,” she said. “The park is one of the places that is getting back to normal.”