Good News For Wetlands

During a parley with our musical mates The Whiskey Bay Rovers, they shared this good news with us; a wonderful example o’ how things CAN work when ye actually DO something about the problem!

Have a look at this article and be sure to run the animation that shows land reclamation from 1987 through 2014 – and not just at the mouth o’ the delta, but inland too: Growing Land In The Atchafalaya Delta

As ye know, we are very dedicated ambassadors for the restoration and preservation o’ wetlands – and especially in Louisiana where so much damage has been done by humans in such a short period. Statistics about the land loss along the Gulf Coast are stated as being as much as a football field an HOUR – equivalent to more than the entire state o’ Delaware in less than a few decades! If ye look at a map o’ South Louisiana and count the places named as “lakes” that are open saltwater now, that’ll give ye an idea o’ how much land is underwater & lost in only the last 50-100 years! Just in the 1990s, South Louisiana accounted for an estimated 90% o’ ALL the coastal marsh loss across ALL the southern states. In fact we also read this week about the plight o’ the Blioxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Band on Isle de Jean Charles being awarded funds to move their entire community inland to Schriever by 2017 – their traditional homeland has gone from 11 miles long by 5 miles wide to 2 miles long and a quarter mile wide – just since 1950.

The good news is there are people working on this problem – frequently shouting about it, getting wet, battling bureaucracy, cleaning up, planting…etc. – and it is having an affect. It seems small in the grand scheme o’ things, but it’s effective and that’s important.

Don’t be mislead, this isn’t a “Louisiana problem” or even just a “coastal state problem”, it’s everywhere. Everywhere there’s water; wetlands, swamp, marsh, lake, river… Ecosystems are under threat and, like the Bear said, only YOU can make a difference. Be mindful, look around ye, help out as yer able (even if it’s just spreading the word to yer “thousands o’ followers”). We all need fresh water – and salt water – for our survival.

[su_quote cite=”Edward Everett Hale”]I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.[/su_quote]