WGL initiative = save the Wetlands, save the Gators, save Louisiana! Because if we lose the first two, the third is already gone.
Representatives from the Gulf Restoration Network joined us in Dutch Alley to speak about the issues shared by those along the Gulf Coast – and solutions for these and other wetlands.
Louis Maistros – Go Down Water
(click to listen; live at Octavia Books, Mar. 2009 – thanks to A City Of Friends for recording)
15% of proceeds from signed copies of Louis Maistros’ excellent book The Sound of Building Coffins sold in his Ebay Store will be donated to America’s Wetland Foundation!
- Louisiana’s 3 million acres of wetlands are lost at the rate about 75 square kilometers annually, but reducing these losses is proving to be difficult and costly.
- USGS and other studies indicate that major shifts in the course of the Mississippi River have contributed significantly to the demise of the wetlands.
- Human activities during the past century have drastically affected the wetlands.
- Methods to mitigate wetlands loss are costly and politically sensitive, affecting communities, agriculture, and industry.
Read more information on the Wetlands and why they need help…
Gulf Restoration Network / Gulf Restoration Network YouTube Channel
USGS Fact Sheet: Louisiana Coastal Wetlands
“The swamps and marshes of coastal Louisiana are among the Nation’s most fragile and valuable wetlands, vital not only to recreational and agricultural interests but also the State’s more than $1 billion per year seafood industry. The staggering annual losses of wetlands in Louisiana are caused by human activity as well as natural processes. U.S. Geological Survey scientists are conducting important studies that are helping planners to understand the life cycle of wetlands by detailing the geologic processes that shape them and the coast, and by providing geologic input to models for mitigation strategies.” S. Jeffress Williams, U.S. Geological Survey
Some of Louisiana’s great wildlife reserves:
Jean Lafitte National Historic Park & Preserve
Atchafalaya National Heritage Area
Alligator Bayou (A full-throttle environmental battle is now underway in what’s left of an ancient cypress-tupelo swamp just southeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Politicians and corporate mitigation bank owners banded together in Iberville Parish, west of Baton Rouge, and succeeded in emptying the 13,000-acre Spanish Lake Basin as if it were nothing more than a toilet.)
List of National Wildlife Refuges (Wikipedia)
Videos:
Levees.org – “The Katrina Myth”
“Losing Louisiana” – Pt. 1 / “Losing Louisiana” – Pt. 2
“Louisiana’s Bayous & Wetlands” – Pt. 1 / “Louisiana’s Bayous & Wetlands – Pt.2″
More Links:
Louisiana Green Corps – (LA Green Corps) is a green job skills training program for 17-24 year old youth living in the Greater New Orleans Area. A collaborative partnership comprised of three New Orleans based non-profit organizations, trains youth in green job skills while helping them gain work adjustment skills, overcome social obstacles, secure a job, and identify resources to help them become successful, contributing members of the workforce. Ecologically sound restoration and revitalization projects prepare Corps members for entry into emerging green industries while galvanizing the local economy through the development of social enterprises. These enterprises create economic opportunity while meeting social and environmental needs.
Swamp School (Wetland & Environmental Education)
South Louisiana Environmental Watch Network
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The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel has investigated the world’s oceans aboard Calypso and Alcyone for much of his life. Honoring his heritage, Jean-Michel founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work. The mission of Ocean Futures Society is to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the world to act responsibly for its protection, documenting the critical connection between humanity and nature, and celebrating the ocean’s vital importance to the survival of all life on our planet. Website |
