Civic Soldier Battles for the Wetlands
Hope for the Coast Hinges on Awareness, Action
As a young lawyer King Milling wasn’t all that interested in environmental issues. Sure, he noticed some dying vegetation, some ponding in the marshes when he went out duck hunting. Occasionally clients in the oil and gas industry mentioned problems with eroding canals and exposed pipelines, but Milling, like most Louisianans, didn’t realize there was cause for much concern. Yet he had friends who insisted that disaster loomed in Louisiana’s wetlands.
Recognizing that vanishing wetlands threatened not only the communities and culture of southern Louisiana but also vital national industries, Congress passed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in 1990. Also known as the Breaux Act, the legislation has contributed funds for over 170 projects undertaken by five federal agencies in partnership with the state of Louisiana.
KLovell, LDNR
One day Milling listened impatiently as a friend spoke about “square miles of land loss.” It wasn’t news, the phrase was familiar, but that day Milling, who had become president of New Orleansbased Whitney National Bank, heard “land loss” and thought, “falling real estate values.” He heard “shrinking shrimp habitat” and thought “demise of Louisiana’s fishing industry.” He heard “conversion to open water” and thought “waves eroding the foundations of bridges and buildings.” Milling had read the facts and seen the evidence, but at this moment, for the first time, he recognized that he himself had a role in the story: stakeholder in Louisiana’s future.
Milling has served as citizen advocate for Louisiana’s coast under three administrations of state government. He has engaged numerous strategies to foster solutions for Louisiana, from speaking at public meetings to advising elected officials to instigating the creation and serving as chairman of America’s WETLAND Foundation. Presently Milling chairs the governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection and Restoration and is a member of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, established following hurricanes Katrina and Rita and mandated to develop a master plan for protecting and restoring southern Louisiana. “CWPPRA is designed to build individual projects that address single issues,” says Milling. “Through CWPPRA we have learned a lot about coastal engineering and restoration. Now it’s time we put all the pieces together in a comprehensive, ecosystem-wide plan.”
“If a picture’s worth 1,000 words, a flight over the coast is worth 1,000 pictures,” says Kirk Rhinehart of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR). As administrator of the Coastal Restoration Division in LDNR’s Office of Coastal Restoration and Management, Rhinehart has taken Congressional delegations, government agency officials, research scientists, foreign dignitaries and numerous others on tours to educate them about Louisiana’s land loss crisis. “People unfamiliar with the coast have difficulty grasping the vastness of our wetland system and the huge amount of activity that takes place in it,” he says. “When they’re exposed to that environment, on the ground or up in the air, the deterioration is evident and they immediately understand our plight.”
Buras, LDNR
Milling is convinced that re-establishing the coastline and its inherent protection is absolutely critical not just for Louisiana but for the entire United States. “Preserving the deltaic system of the Mississippi River is essential to industries vital to the nation — fishing, navigation, oil and gas,” says Milling. And he realizes that to accomplish such preservation, people outside of Louisiana — people all over the country, all over the globe — need to learn how they, too, are stakeholders in Louisiana’s wetlands.
A Sudanese delegation returns from a trip into the south Louisiana marshes. Visitors frequently include international scientists, policymakers and media professionals who want to see the condition of Louisiana's coast firsthand. Wetland specialists and CWPPRA project managers enrich visitors' experiences by leading discussions about the science and engineering of coastal restoration.
LDNR
Coastal restoration is progressing in large measure because of actions that Milling and scores of other dedicated citizens, scientists, engineers and politicians have undertaken. And — just as vital to addressing Louisiana’s coastal crisis as blueprints and breakwaters — outreach and education are spreading awareness, cultivating interest, inspiring action and developing public support. From nationally publicized initiatives like the America’s WETLAND campaign to high school students’ cleanup of a local marsh, from university programs training teachers in wetland curricula to interpretive presentations for tourists at parks and museums, outreach and education teach an increasing number of people all over America how they are stakeholders in Louisiana’s future. This issue of WaterMarks presents a sampling of stories from wetland stewards engaged in this work, work critical to securing the future of Louisiana’s coast.