Friday, 25 Aug 2000

THIBODAUX, La.

At our staff meeting this morning I was updated on the activities of some of my coworkers.

A photo of our staff. Top row from left to right: Richard DeMay, Sandra Kendrick, Deborah Schultz, Rachel Somers. Bottom row, left to right: Kerry St. Pe, Matt Phillips, Eddie Landrum, and Dean Blanchard.

Matt Phillips is gathering historical salinity data we have stored in our extensive data system and he continues to keep our website up to date.

Dean Blanchard is working on a brochure that emphasizes the sensibility of oil spill prevention. With the large preponderance of oil rigs and production platforms in our estuary, the enforcement of regulations requiring spill prevention measures is difficult. Some companies in our estuary have, however, recognized that the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” not only makes good ecological sense, but good economic sense as well. The cost of cleanup and the resulting penalties is far greater than the cost of implementing preventive measures. Dean’s brochure highlights these progressive companies and gives real-life examples of the cost savings of containing a spill before it reaches the estuary.

Rachel Somers is planning a storm-drain-marking program with a local 4-H group. Rachel, the kids, and the mayor of the city of Thibodaux will fan out across a neighborhood, marking drains with a sturdy decal that reads “No dumping — drains to esturary.” A picture of Clawdette (our crab mascot) is prominently displayed on the decal and on the informational brochure that will be passed out to local residents during this event. Rachel, who is serving with our program through the Delta Service Corps, also has artistic talent and is hard at work on a coloring, activity, and information book for young children.

Richard DeMay is working on projects to enhance migratory bird habitat. The barrier islands of Barataria-Terrebonne not only shield inland habitats from the fury of storms and provide habitat for resident birds; they are also the first stop for weary trans-gulf Neotropical migratory birds. With certain weather conditions, these often-colorful world travelers will literally drop out of the sky and lie in docile and weary repose on our beaches after their incredible journey across the gulf. Richard is working with the Nature Conservancy and Exxon, a large property owner, to plant live oak, mulberry, and hackberry trees for food and cover for these migrants. A poster depicting the habitats of Barataria-Terrebonne that are important to migratory birds has been developed, and a video is in the works.

A “ladybug” at La Fete.

Sandra Kendrick is coordinating our annual La Fete d’Ecologie, or Ecology Festival, held here in Thibodaux each October. La Fete is not only an opportunity to educate our citizenry about our issues, through information booths from natural resource agencies, community groups, and individuals, but a celebration of our unique heritage as well. The sounds of Cajun and swamp pop music and the smell of jambalaya and étouffée will infuse the air, as children dressed as estuarine animals throw beads while they parade through the festivities. Traditional dancers from Native American, Cajun, Italian, Islenos, Philippine, African, Croatian, and Irish backgrounds will remind us of the rich blend of ethnicities that have formed the gumbo of our culture. Demonstrations will take place of palmetto hut building, cypress baskets, blow guns, traditional boat building, and “Dancing the Shrimp” — a reenactment of the art of dancing away the hulls from shrimp dried on large platforms in the sun before the days of refrigeration. These activities remind us that we are a people who have historically made a living by being entirely dependent on this estuarine environment. Decoy carving, cast net throwing, and duck calling contests remind us that we still are.

“Dancing the Shrimp” at La Fete.

Kerry St. Pé, our program director, continues to maintain some sense of sanity amidst the growing momentum created by widespread confidence in a program dedicated to preserving and restoring a place loved by so many. He is currently absorbed by the dying salt marsh issue, answering questions from reporters and pondering calls from other agencies asking for our program to take a coordinating role in the response. Doing this with such a small, overloaded staff will not be an easy task. Repeatedly, we have felt a strong sense of being guided by a higher power. Are we being steered into fulfilling the potential of the program? We will see where we are led and try our best to rise to these challenges.

Today I have been answering phone calls and tending to contract details for a number of education and outreach projects our program funds. These include educator workshops such as WETMAAP (Wetlands Education Using Maps and Aerial Photography), a program originating from Chadron State College in Nebraska. Through this workshop, teachers learn a variety of map-reading skills, including interpretation of topographic maps, infrared vegetation signatures, and physical structures. Participants are also afforded an opportunity for intensive analysis of a specific site, through aerial photographs from three different time periods. The site we have chosen to focus on is Golden Meadow, so named for the ubiquitous goldenrod flower. Golden Meadow is located just inside the end of the southern-most hurricane protection levee on Bayou Lafourche, the town where many of the survivors of the hurricane of 1893 settled after the devastation of their Cheniere Caminada community. Teachers are encouraged to study and interpret the changes observed between 1956 and the present. What they observe is that what was once a continuous carpet of marsh between Golden Meadow and the gulf has now been reduced to a vestige of the former cover, with gaping holes of open water resembling a skeletonized leaf. The changes are striking and they sound a warning call that residents of this community may soon be forced once again to abandon their roots and run for their lives to the north.

Our program has produced and is producing many educational products, including an award-winning documentary by local filmmaker Glen Pitre entitled Haunted Waters, Fragile Lands. Relying heavily on historical footage, Mr. Pitre relates the story of how this land was sacrificed, through clear-cutting of our vast stands of enormous virgin bald cypress trees, to the excavati
on of major navigation channels and the leveeing of the Mississippi River to feed the American Dream. This video was followed by a sequel, Rescuing the Treasure, also by Mr. Pitre, which outlines some of our restoration efforts. Contrasting these early productions with our most recent video, America’s Vanishing Treasure, by Craig Gautreaux, one can see the evolution of our response to the dilemma of land loss. What began as a characterization and analysis of the problem has given way to a much more serious tone. America’s Vanishing Treasure is a grave warning that without the help of the nation, the marshes, the swamps, the habitat, the seafood, and the rich culture of this estuary will disappear into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a warning that this treasure, which we call Barataria-Terrebonne, could be lost forever.