Earned Media
Coastal chief: Louisiana needs big diversion projects to restore wetlands
The benefits of the project are immense. The project has the capability to build and sustain an estimated 13,000 to 26,000 acres (about 20 to 40 square miles) of land, depending on the rate of future sea level rise. More wetlands mean more storm surge protection for already vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure that fuels our economy. It also means a more productive and sustainable estuary that will support healthy marshes and habitat for a variety of seafood, fish, and other aquatic life. By comparison, if natural processes are not re-established, the steady and dramatic decline currently underway will continue to worsen.
We recognize, however, that this project is not without its costs. We acknowledge there will be impacts and changes to communities, wildlife, and industries as a result of constructing and operating the project, and the state intends to mitigate those impacts where feasible.
Coalition Advocates for Wetlands Restoration Project - Biz New Orleans
Quotes Steve Cochra, MRD/EDF, David Muth, NWF, and MRD statement: Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers released an environmental impact statement for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. This Louisiana Coastal Master Plan project hopes to reconnect the Mississippi River to adjacent wetlands to build and maintain tens of thousands of acres of land in the Barataria Basin, which is experiencing one of the highest rates of land loss on the planet. The release of the DEIS will be followed by a public comment period offering individuals and organizations an opportunity to play an active role in the restoration process.
Louisiana's first line of defense against hurricanes is disappearing
Features Alisha Renfro, NWF, James Karst, CRCL.
On a blue-sky February day, Renfro along with a team of scientists and conservationists gave me a tour of the barrier islands, sitting about 10 miles by boat from Cocodrie. On our way, we come upon the Lake Pelto Sulphur Mine Island. A photo from 1988 shows a large building on it and satellite imagery from around the same time shows most of the Island still visible. Today, the island is submerged with a few feet of water. A handful of abandoned structures remain and only a small strip of land is peaking above the surface.
Here's how to make your voice heard on Mid-Barataria sediment diverson project
The comment period closes May 4 at midnight. After that, the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group will write a final restoration plan to support the state's request for a construction permit, and the Corps will write a final environmental impact statement and consider issuing permits to build the diversion.
News
Jeremy Alford: Wildlife department at a fiscal crossroads
Declining oil prices and a stagnant fee structure have prompted officials at the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to ask lawmakers for a $20 million emergency injection for the next fiscal year and an enhanced licensing structure that could generate as much as $30 million annually to salvage subsequent years.
The Great Blind Spot in Hurricane Preparedness
In Louisiana, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—which enters with a substellar reputation, to say the least, given its colossal Katrina failures—are currently pursuing a $50 billion shoreline restoration project, known as the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Initiated four years ago, the plan is designed to create roughly 28 square miles of marshes in the Barataria Basin, which has been eroding for years now.
The idea, according to NOLA.com, is to create a hole in the Mississippi River levee by the lower Plaquemines Parish and channel sediment-heavy river water into the West Bank wetlands. Rebuilding the marshes would mean future storm surges in the nearby West Bank communities would drop by a full foot. The plan, which recently cleared its environmental review, is not without its drawbacks—the manmade marsh would significantly impact the habitats currently relied on by the river’s bottlenose dolphins, oysters, and shrimp, as well as the local fishing-based economies that depend on them. But the Army Corps declared that the sacrifices were ultimately worth the exchange for reducing the storm surge and replenishing the marshes.
Industry Overuse Puts Capital City Drinking Water At Risk
The problem lies in the Southern Hills Aquifer System, an interconnected cluster of saturated sands deep beneath Baton Rouge. The aquifer provides water to 650,000 people in six parishes. It also supplies hundreds of oil and gas plants, chemical manufacturers and commercial support contractors along the Mississippi River.
The 10 worst animal invaders in Louisiana: Fire ants, nutria, tiger mosquitos and more
By air, land and sea, Louisiana has been invaded by a host of foreign critters that are wreaking havoc on farms, homes, wetlands and even our health.
Government agencies and conservation groups have spent decades and millions of dollars fighting invasive animals in Louisiana. But try as they might, many of these destructive bugs, fish and mammals are growing in numbers.
We asked invasive species specialist Michael Massimi, who spent years battling invasives with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, to highlight the 10 worst animal invaders in Louisiana