Interested in Louisiana's wetlands loss problems?? Some stuff I wrote

[darkstar]

a while back that I turned up while putting materials together for a job app.


Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion
http://www.lacoast.gov/programs/DavisPond/stemming-the-tide.htm
(Written to spec for several agencies and purposes, kind of multiple personality disorder if you ask me: delta formation, wetlands importance to LA/USA, Davis Pond structure, operation and mngmnt. But that's what they wanted. DP is important as microcosm of the big restoration effort being put forward to congress in March 04. $14.x billion request to divert 1/4 to 1/3 of the Mississippi's present--already human altered--course.)

Brown Marsh Dieback
http://www.lacoast.gov/articles/bms/index.htm
(If I get the job, this will be the clencher. Interviewed 25+ scientists, shot/edited vids , turned in ahead of schedule. Lots of sections to check out...)

Brown Pelicans Return
http://www.lacoast.gov/articles/bps/index.htm
(Not wetlands per se, but barrier island habitat and the return of the state bird that had fully disappeared at one point. Inspiring story, i.e. the work of the researchers and the bird's return, not my writing!)

All found w/in the larger site that I used to edit:
http://www.lacoast.gov/

[Mikimouse]

1. Hey darkstar

I just read the post, not the links yet, but the project sounds familiar. This wouldn't be a set of studies co-funded by EPA and ACE, would it? My wife is headed to ULL as one of their field researchers.

[darkstar]

2. Hey--

Cool. I'm in Lafayette. Not certain which project you're talking about. The large diversion I spoke of is LA State and Fed, so yeah ACE is involved along w/ lot's of agencies. Davis Pond was state and ACE. Brown Marsh was ad hoc emergency group of state and fed agencies, private corps, and lots of universities.

If I had to guess, from yr description, the yr wife might be getting on board the Bayou LaFourche thing. I might work on that, too, once funding for the lowly likes of me is arranged. Not the job I'm specifically applying for, however. That's out of DC, but nationwide enviro media consulting whatnot.

I'm guessing she's not teaching, as semester has started? Will she be physically housed at Nat Wetlands Research Center rather than ULL? My wife works there.

Are you guys already in state? Will you becoming too?

[MojoKrunch]

3. Oh man, I miss boudin from Comeaux's... sigh.

I may actually have to go home in time for the next crawfish season just to eat my fill again.
lol

North Carolina has much better weather... *4* actual seasons, mind you, and humidity below 80%, but damn I miss the food.
lol

Graduated from ULL back when it was USL in 1987(does anyone want it to be named just UL any longer or is ULL a "win"?) with an art degree, originally from a tiny little town in Avoyelles parish, moved to NC 10 years ago.

When is the next Festival Acadianne(what is the name of that park... Pullen)?
Is there still a Festival International(or whatever that thing downtown was called)?

Ah well, back to work.

:D

Mojo

[darkstar]

4. Yep

still got both festivals. Not a native but been here 8 yrs.

Not to put down Festival Acadienne, but Festival Int. has become truly world class since yr departure. Three great large stages, another three smaller stages. Simply outstanding talent and some big names starting to show. Bonnie Raitt showed up unannounced yr before last w/ some New Orleans guys; Los Lobos closed this year past. Santana was trying to work something out at last minute.

The list of international acts is increasingly amazing. French funk bands, Cubanissmo, lots of Afro-pop, traditional and contmpo Latin, Jamaican, you name it. And still free. A huge, huge 3 day party.

Come on back home, cher!

[newyawker99]

7. Hi MojoKrunch!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[amazona]

5. nice article on the brown pelican

I've bookmarked the others to read later -- looks like a great site!

Lowery seemed hesitant to come out and name names but he seemed to believe that endrin from "a chemical plant in Memphis" was to blame for the many fish kills and the die-off of the Louisiana brown pelicans.

Apparently there was some confusion in days gone by about whether the state bird was originally intended to be the white or brown pelican -- apparently a white pelican actually appeared on license plates one year in the 1950s.

They have certainly come back strong, let's hope it stays that way.

[darkstar]

6. Unfortunately,

some of the islands got hit hard last fall during TS Isadore and Hurricane Lili. Racoon Island, one of the sites mentioned in the piece, got slammed pretty good, getting completely breached by overwash in roughly 20 spots. Not too well elevated yet, still in their build up process, they readily became channelized in these spots, deepening and widening with every tide. I know crews took some surveys and measures, but pretty much everyone was afraid for the numbers to follow for these ground nesters.

I'm sorry to say I don't know how bad an effect it ultimately had b/c this article was one of three along these lines that got me to quit. It was very frustrating. I'd write to meet deadlines, then multi-agency committees would have to review. It wasn't so much having to get their POVs in there, it's that they'd sit on them for so long that they were no longer current, or at times true. Having sat for 6-7 months, the pelican article went up a month *after* the hurricane season, hence, the story really should have been different, i.e. at least a 20% devoted to this setback, quotes from concerned scientists out surveying the damage, prospects, etc, IMO. Everyone in the barrier restoration and bird communities was talking about the storm effects. It was simply a false picture to put up at the time and, perhaps, to have up even still.

Thanks for reading and yr interest.