If you care about our coast or fishing, you should know about Hydrocoast!
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Louisiana’s coast is dynamic. This simple but profoundly important trait of coastal Louisiana is largely due to the fact that water is always moving around our coast. This plays out in a variety of ways in our coastal estuaries, where fresh water from the Mississippi River mixes with salty water from the Gulf. Rain falls, and rivers flood fresh water areas. An east wind blows, and an extra high tide pushes salty Gulf water inland. Every day, the tides driven …
Tagged breton basin, breton sound, hydrocoast, john lopez, lake pontchartrain basin foundation, salinities, scienceGood Food and Good Times for a Healthier Coast
Second Annual Cook-off for the Coast Triples Last Year’s Funds Raised This blog has also been published at MerauxFoundation.org and The St. Bernard Voice. We all know our coast and wetlands are in significant danger, but what can we as individuals do about it? Well, true to St. Bernard’s heritage of amazing food and caring people, crowds dug in at the second annual Cook-off for the Coast at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm on February 9th. Cook teams from throughout the …
Congress is Setting Out to Tackle Climate Change and Coastal Louisiana is in the Spotlight.
Earlier this month, the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife hosted a hearing on “Healthy Oceans and Healthy Communities: the State of our Oceans in the 21st Century.” This was one in a series of hearings hosted by the House Committee on Natural Resources, all discussing climate change and its impacts. And at this hearing, the story of coastal Louisianans was front and center. To learn more about the impacts of climate change on coastal and fishing communities, the …
Bringing Louisiana’s Coast to the Mountains at the Aspen Ideas Festival
Originally posted by Audubon Louisiana on July 16, 2018. Last month, I had the opportunity to represent Audubon Louisiana in Aspen, Colorado, at the annual Aspen Ideas Festival. Produced by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic, the Aspen Ideas Festival is a gathering of leaders from across industries, nonprofit organizations and government aimed at tackling some of the biggest challenges of the day. Over 3,000 attendees from around the world descended on Aspen “to engage in deep and inquisitive discussions of the …
While Land Washes Away, How Do We Save Louisiana’s Cultural Heritage?
The State of the Coast conference brings policymakers, stakeholders and technical experts together to share their research and vision for coastal Louisiana’s future in the face of our land loss crisis. Amongst the efforts focused on preserving the future of coastal Louisiana and its communities are researchers focused on preserving its cultural heritage. Our cultural heritage is spread out across the coast in the form of many different cultural resources: historic buildings, traditional cultural properties, sacred sites, archaeological sites and …
25 Ways We Can Build a More Resilient New Orleans
This week, the National Wildlife Federation and Tulane University released a report of recommendations for how the City of New Orleans can build a more resilient future in the face of coastal land loss and rising seas. The report was developed during a convening of 40 coastal leaders. National Wildlife Federation and Tulane hosted the event, facilitated by the City of New Orleans. Participants brought expertise from the economic, policy, social, and technical perspectives to a day of thoughtful and …
“Tree Planting in the Swamps,” a Poem by Reverend Seamus Doyle
I first came to Louisiana from Ireland in 1974 and fell in love with the people, the food and the land. Over the next forty years, I have travelled most of the USA and lived for stretches in various places; but my heart was in Louisiana, and finally I returned home. Some years ago, I read “Bayou Farewell” by Mike Tidwell and felt a great sadness for the loss of the land, for the forced migration of communities. It is …
World Wetlands Day 2018: #KeepUrbanWetlands
Today is World Wetlands Day! The theme this year, “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future,” hits very close to home. After all, New Orleans is a coastal city! Our surrounding wetlands create a vital line of defense against storm surge and rising seas. To celebrate World Wetlands Day, keep reading to learn a little more about our critical wetlands and what you can do to protect them. Is New Orleans really a coastal city? Our coast loses a football field …
Hog Heaven: Cooking and Eating Our Way to a Healthier Coast
More than 400 people convened at Docville Farm in Violet, Louisiana on November 18th for the first annual Cook-Off for the Coast. This tailgate party raised awareness of coastal restoration efforts—a cause close to southern Louisianians’ hearts and homes. As Jessica Vallelungo, Career and Technical Education Coordinator for the St. Bernard Parish Schools and a St. Bernard native, tells it, “In my lifetime, I’ve seen the erosion. I’ve seen the changes in the landscape, especially post-Katrina. The first time I …
Stewards of Creation
The Louisiana Interchurch Conference (LIC) was formed to serve in part as a collective voice of a significant portion of the Christian churches and faith communities in our state. In the 1980s the attention of the conference turned to the coast and the loss of land along the coastal parishes. The LIC joined its corporate voice with others in advocating for ways to restore the coast and to draw attention to the call of all Christians to be good stewards …
A Waterfront Stroll: New Orleans and the Mississippi River
On a sunny morning, a crowd of 20 odd people gathered outside the Old U.S. Mint at the foot of Esplanade Avenue. Designed by William Strickland, the c. 1838 Mint exemplifies the Greek revival style popular among the Americans who flocked to New Orleans following the Louisiana Purchase. Today it houses the New Orleans Jazz Museum, host of the annual Downriver Festival celebrating the Mississippi River’s contributions to Louisiana’s cultural and culinary traditions. We descended into Crescent Park, where a …
Help Us Celebrate National Estuaries Week
Do you love your local estuary? Restore or Retreat sure does! And what better way to spread that estuarine ecosystem love than during National Estuaries Week?! Restore or Retreat (ROR) is a non-profit coastal advocacy group created in 2000 by coastal Louisiana residents and stakeholders who recognize that the Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries are among the most beautiful ecosystems in America. Unfortunately, these estuaries are rapidly eroding, creating an economic and ecological crisis. As part of ROR’s mission, we seek to …
From Cattle Farming to Pageant Queen: A Coastal Advocate All the Way
I grew up on levees of both rice and crawfish fields along the coast of southern Vermilion Parish. To some that might sound like a boring childhood but to me, it was my own paradise and playground. This unique upbringing greatly influenced the person I have become, as well as my understanding of the importance of Louisiana’s coast and the many unique communities that comprise it. I was born into a family which was, and still is, deeply invested …
Building Community Capacity to Reduce the Adverse Effects of Natural Disasters
Originally posted on LinkedIn on August 2, 2017. A couple of weeks ago I spent three days with the nation’s leading researchers and practitioners in reducing the hazards of natural disasters, and the evidence is clear: Disasters have an adverse effect on the social, economic, and environmental fabric of their communities – and climate change is already making the problem more acute. Large and small communities across the nation are trying to figure out how they will adapt and mitigate …
Your Voice is Needed for #OurCoast: Attend Upcoming Mid-Barataria Scoping Meetings
As the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) move forward with the permitting process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – one of the most important restoration projects in the Coastal Master Plan – your voice and support are needed! The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion would reconnect the river with nearby wetlands and deliver sediment to build and maintain tens of thousands of acres in this crucial area. To get this project constructed, the Corps must follow …