Latest news: August 25, 2011
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U.S. Army Corps Flood Failures on Mississippi Demand New Vision By James S. Russell, Bloomberg. Aug 23, 2011. “The record-breaking spring floods ‘tested the limits of the system,’ said Paul Harrison, senior director for Mississippi River and East Coast at the Environmental Defense Fund. He said the Army Corps, which has managed the river’s flow since 1824, ‘wants to continue to invest in the old system rather than look at these events as an opportunity to create a 21st-century system.’ Similar criticism has …
Mississippi River research paves way for holistic river management approach
Conservation groups say partnership between Louisiana, Corps essential for healthy environment, communities, industries, national economy News Release (Baton Rouge–August 24, 2011) Conservation groups today expressed support for an agreement between Louisiana and federal officials to conduct an investigation focusing on the dynamic nature of the Lower Mississippi River and the interplay between restoration, navigation and flood control. Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will collaborate on the analysis, officially called the …
Orleans Landbridge restoration project deemed a "Win-Win-Win"
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation At a news conference on August 17, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that important work was beginning on the Orleans Landbridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation Project. The project will help protect the marsh that separates Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, which is retreating at an alarming average of 7.7 feet per year. In an exciting twist, this project will recycle more than 200,000 tons of crushed concrete …
Faces of the Delta: Captain Ryan Lambert
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Captain Lambert: founder of Cajun Fishing Adventures, charter boat captain, lifetime South Louisiana resident and coastal restoration advocate. Name: Captain Ryan Lambert Location: Buras, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Occupation: Charter captain; Board President, Cajun Fishing Adventures; Vice President, Louisiana Charter Boat Association. Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I am South Louisiana! I was born here. I love the culture, the people, …
Coastal Restoration and Job Creation: A Win-Win
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Last Friday in the remote town of Davant, Louisiana (on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish), more than 100 people who care about the coast spent the day engaging in a productive dialogue about coastal restoration and protection. The forum, “Getting the Water Right, Getting the Jobs Right,” brought together fishermen, environmental NGOs, community and faith-based organizations, coastal engineering firms, academics, workforce development organizations as well as local, state and …
Tagged EconomicsGulf editorials endorse RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act
By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund Newspaper editorial boards and columnists from all five Gulf Coast states have endorsed legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of fines from BP and others responsible for last summer’s gulf oil disaster to restore Gulf Coast communities, economies and ecosystems. The RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act is a gulf-wide, bipartisan bill co-sponsored by nine out of the 10 gulf senators. Here are some of the highlights: Alabama The Montgomery Advertiser: “It is crucial that …
Faces of the Delta: Father Vien
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Father Vien: Vietnam refugee, New Orleans priest, urban gardener and coastal restoration advocate. Name: Father Vien The Nguyen Location: New Orleans East Occupation: Chairman of the Board for Mary Queen of Viet Nam (MQVN) Community Development Corporation, former priest at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans Father Vien, talking about the MQVN Church: I think we are probably the most international parish in New …
Louisiana Parish Officials and NGOs Work Together to Develop a Strategy for Large-Scale Restoration
By Chris Pulaski, National Wildlife Federation Restore or Retreat and the National Wildlife Federation hosted the first “Lafourche and Terrebonne Allied Restoration Summit for Non-Governmental Organizations” on August 3 in Houma, La. The summit was designed to facilitate a discussion on how and where the local, state and federal non-governmental organization (NGO) community can work with Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes to achieve common restoration goals for large-scale projects. Several of the NGOs present agreed to participate in further detailed discussions with …
Unshackling the Mighty Mississippi: New Video Shows How Working With Nature—Not Against It—Can Build New Land at Myrtle Grove
By Amanda Moore (National Wildlife Federation) and Brian Jackson (Environmental Defense Fund) The Mississippi River built 7,000 square miles of beautiful, rich deltaic wetlands, but over the last century, the natural land-building processes that constructed that land have been largely shut off. Flipping that land-building switch back on is crucial for success in restoring the Mississippi River Delta and the communities, wildlife and economies that depend on it. A critical project that will build land and jumpstart restoration is the …
White House Receives Blueprint For Bringing Gulf of Mexico Back to Health
As Senators consider bill on oil spill penalties, conservationists urge lawmakers to invest fines in Gulf’s natural systems and communities that need them. (Washington, DC—August 1, 2011) Leading conservation groups working across the Gulf of Mexico have submitted to the White House a blueprint for action that federal, state and local governments can take to restore the region’s threatened natural systems and to help communities that rely on the Gulf for survival. The groups delivered their recommendations to the Presidential Task …
Tagged ReportsBijou Blowout
The Vanishing Paradise team and outdoor writers descend on Lafitte, Louisiana for explosive redfishing – as well as an education. This piece was originally posted on Vanishing Paradise’s website. By Lew Carpenter, National Wildlife Federation Five outdoor writers representing sportsmen from coast-to-coast recently joined a Vanishing Paradise team for two days of fishing out of Captain Theophile Bourgeois’ Cajun Vista Inn in Lafitte, Louisiana. The calm skies were dusted with distant thunderheads as we headed out into the marsh with Captain …
Faces of the Delta: Justin Mack
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Next in our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet Justin Mack: New Orleans native, environmental educator and restoration advocate. Name: Justin Mack Location: Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana Occupation: Science Coordinator at Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I was born in New Orleans and moved to Houston as a child. I came back to New Orleans for grad school …
Gulf Senators Praised for Cosponsoring Bill to Restore Gulf
Contacts: Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3331, scrowley@edf.org David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org Sandra Rodriguez, The Nature Conservancy, 703.841.4227, srodriguez@tnc.org David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org Patrick Scully, Oxfam America, 617.728.2402, pscully@oxfamamerica.org Gulf Senators Praised for Cosponsoring Bill to Restore Gulf Bill dedicates oil spill fines to restore Gulf communities, economies & ecosystems (Washington, D.C.—July 21, 2011) A coalition of organizations supporting Gulf restoration celebrated news …
New Video Builds Local Support for Myrtle Grove Diversion
By Maura Wood, National Wildlife Federation To kick coastal restoration into high gear and to create a sustainable coast, reconnecting the river to the marsh in a controlled way and allowing the delivery of sediment is key. Sediment deposited through marsh-building diversions will build an ever-expanding platform which, as it grows, will become vegetated. This vegetation will trap more sediment, leading to even more land growth. This mimics the natural processes that built our coast and offers hope of creating a …
Faces of the Delta: John Koeferl
In the fourth installment of our Faces of the Delta series, you will meet John Koeferl: retired carpenter and environmental advocate, fighting to protect “the wetland of our nation.” By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation Name: John Koeferl Location: Holy Cross/Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, Louisiana Occupation: Retired carpenter, environmental advocate Tell me about your connection to south Louisiana. I came to New Orleans for graduate school at Tulane and stayed here from then on—loved the city. I raised my family for …