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Jewels of Plaquemines Parish
Plaquemines was once home to thousands of citrus groves, but a combination of freezes and hurricanes throughout the twentieth century crippled the industry. Whatever remained, Katrina all but wiped out. Only a fraction of growers remain.
Ironically, the levees that protect Fort Jackson may have contributed to the disappearance of the parish’s citrus groves. Fertile silt and soil that once fanned out into the groves during floods are now funneled by levees into the Gulf of Mexico. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority reclaims some of that through dredging, but it goes toward rebuilding the coastline, not the citrus industry. Understandably so. Even if it did, most growers have moved on.
Illuminator Podcast: A Louisiana church tries to recover from two hurricanes - Louisiana Illuminator
Julie O’Donoghue interviews Rev. James Gaddy of St. Mary of the Lake Catholic church in Cameron Parish about hurricane recovery. Gaddy’s church suffered $3 million worth of damage during the 2020 hurricane season.