NWF ED Retreat Spreads Word of Louisiana Coastal Plight

(National Wildlife Federation)

Thank you Affiliates for participating in the Coastal Louisiana tour day, and ask for your help to bring attention to this Nationally significant restoration effort.  We hope we can count on Affiliate support as we move forward with this project. 

This article template is available for Affiliate use.  We encourage you to adapt this article and help us spread this important message.

Copyright information:  This article and photographs are available for Affiliate use.  Please provide proper credit to 
Lew Carpenter, NWF Regional Representative (NV, WY, NE). 

Nearly 30 executive directors and leaders from National Wildlife Federation affiliates boarded a bus December 2, 2008 bound for the marsh of Louisiana’s wetlands. The purpose: to bring home a conservation mega-project message to the nation in the hope that it is not too late to save a national treasure.

Louisiana has 30 to 40 percent of the coastal wetlands in the continental U.S. The coastal zone is home to nearly 2 million people. The wetlands shelter communities from hurricanes, sustain a unique cultural heritage, support a productive seafood industry, and protect a port and energy infrastructure that serves the nation.

Wetlands are our first line of defense against hurricane force winds and flooding from storm surge. Wetlands can protect levees by inhibiting the formation and propagation of waves, and scientists have estimated that every mile of wetlands can trim three to nine inches off of a storm surge.

THE PROBLEM

Coastal wetland loss has been particularly dramatic in Louisiana, where coastal marshes are subsiding and disappearing. It’s a double-whammy: sea level rise combined with coastal erosion exposes coastal communities to tidal and storm surges, shrinking wildlife habitat.

Louisiana has the highest rates of land loss in the nation. Every day Louisiana loses an area of coastal wetlands equivalent to the size of 32 football fields. The 80 miles of wetlands that act as a “horizontal levee” between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans is shrinking every day.

There are many causes of wetland loss, including dams and levees, navigation channels and oil and gas activities. Predicted sea level rise as a result of global warming threatens even more rapid inundation.

THE PEOPLE

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) tour of coastal Louisiana included a visit to Grand Bayou where the group was welcomed by Rosina Phillip of the Atakapa Tribe and Kris Peterson, University of New Orleans Center for Hazard Assessment, Response and Technology.

Grand Bayou, in Plaquemines Parish, is an unincorporated community of 125 people (25 families), accessible only by boat. The culture is Native American (Atakapa and Houma) and French. Residents make their living by shrimping, oystering, crabbing, fishing and trapping.

Following a guided tour of the marsh members the group enjoyed a shrimp boil provided by the community. After lunch, through an Atakapa tradition, the group shared stories from the various communities (affiliate and Atakapa) that illustrated the tensions and opportunities that exist when trying to harmonize the needs of humans and wildlife in the face of energy development, climate change and other human stressors.

The community of Grand Bayou is not alone, generations of people throughout the Louisiana coastline have worked in fishing, crabbing, and shrimping, but if our coastal wetlands continue to disappear, these family-supporting jobs will be at risk. Fishing and hunting opportunities, too, will begin to more noticeably disappear.

HUNTERS AND ANGLERS

Louisiana's 678,000 hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $1.6 billion a year on hunting and fishing.

In Louisiana, spending by hunters and anglers directly supports 31,000 jobs, which puts $786 million worth of paychecks into pockets of working residents around the state. Of course, government coffers also benefit - spending by sportsmen in pursuit of these outdoor activities generates $176 million in state and local taxes. These latest figures demonstrate that season after season hunters and anglers are driving the economy from big businesses to rural towns, through booms and recessions.

THE SOLUTION

Wetlands and coastal areas can be restored, but they require urgent attention. Scientists now tell us that to restore and sustain Louisiana’s coastal marshes, we must rapidly move forward on bold restoration projects that restore the land-building power of the Mississippi River in a controlled way within the next ten years.

The NWF tour stopped at two areas critical in the effort to connect the river with the wetlands.

At the Caenarvon Freshwater Diversion Project, project managers from the LA Department of Natural Resources, Chuck Villarubia with the Caenarvon FDP and  Russ Joffrion with the proposed Myrtle Grove Sediment Diversion Project, spoke about the history and future of these projects. The task at hand is to make sure these proposed diversions are designed and built with a large enough capacity (100,000 cfs for Caenarvon) to really move enough sediment during the big flood years to help with land building efforts in the Delta.

Returning to New Orleans the group made a final stop at Bayou Bienvenue also known as the Central Wetlands project in the Lower Ninth Ward. There we met with Dr. John Day, Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences and Coastal Ecology Institute, School of Coast and Environment, LSU.

The project seeks to restore about 10,000 acres of cypress wetlands by using wetland assimilation of wastewater effluent. The project will integrate sustainability with mitigation measures.

CALL TO ACTION

National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and the Environmental Defense Fund are partnering to advocate for a bold approach to restoring the wetlands and coastal areas that protect people and wildlife.

We are urging the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite three large projects:

• Close the harmful Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) and restore the surrounding wetlands.

• Use fresh water and sediment in the Lower Mississippi River to replace rapidly subsiding coastal wetlands to the east and west of the main channel.

• Manage water and sediment from the Atchafalaya River to enhance inland swamps and coastal marshes.

The good news is that aggressive action to restore coastal wetlands is also a solution to the impacts of global warming. Providing freshwater and sediment allows coastal wetlands to build up vertically in response to global sea level rise.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

• Tell the Corps that MRGO must go. Get a free yard sign or bumper sticker and write a letter to the President at www.mrgomustgo.org.

• Contact elected officials. Congress and the Louisiana Legislature ultimately control the funding for coastal restoration. Tell your elected representatives that we need to restore the Mississippi River’s capacity to build land so we are protected from hurricanes and rising seas.

• Tell a friend! This is a national effort to save a national resource. Please ask your friends and family to take part!

The fate of Louisiana’s wetlands is the fate of America’s conservation legacy. As conditions become more dire across the country for wildlife, habitat and recreational opportunities, success in Louisiana will give hope to the growing and urgent needs elsewhere. Proving that we can succeed on a grand scale opens the doors to more funding and resources – the lynchpin of NWF’s future, the fate of its affiliate network and the fate of our collective future.

For more information call 337-255-2831 or visit www.nwf.org/louisiana.

PHOTO GALLERY TO ACCOMPANY THIS ARTICLE

Anglers from throughout the nation embark from Venice Marina to
hunt redfish in the declining marshes of Louisiana.
Photo by Lew Carpenter NWF

Redfish anglers fish the marshes of Louisiana.
Photo by Lew Carpenter NWF

Eric Cosby of Top Brass tackle in Mississippi holds up a beautiful
Louisiana marsh redfish. Cosby hosts anglers from around the country
in an annual fall fishing event called Marsh Madness.
Photo by Lew Carpenter NWF

A typical international freighter heading out to sea through the
Mississippi channel, which lays claim to 30 percent or more of the
U.S. sea bound commerce freight. Photo by Lew Carpenter, NWF

Shrimp boats at Venice Marina, Louisiana. Louisiana hosts 30 percent
of the U.S. seafood production, often by independent and
family-owned businesses.  Photo by Lew Carpenter NWF

A typical healthy marsh stand at the entrance to an oil and gas canal.
Canals like these are rapidly disappearing due to rising seas and
erosion requiring energy developers to reinvest in what was considered
long term infrastructure. Photo by Lew Carpenter NWF

Cypress trees engulfed by saltwater. Every day Louisiana loses an
area of coastal wetlands equivalent to the size of 32 football fields.
The 80 miles of wetlands that act as a “horizontal levee” between the
Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans is shrinking every day.  Photo by
Lew Carpenter