Region Four: The Land and Its People

US Army Corps of Engineers Photo

A vast expanse of wild marsh, waterways and cheniers characterizes much of Region Four. Located within Cameron, Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes and washed on its southern border by the Gulf of Mexico, the region has been a focal point for the blending of ecosystems-a place where alliances are formed between fresh and salt water, land and sea. Fertile with life, the estuaries bordering the gulf offer inland passage to the tidal flows that mix with the freshwater marshes, lakes and rivers that dominate the region.

For thousands of years, the wetlands flourished, unaffected by man's influence. Fresh water flowed from the north, vitalizing the marshes and estuaries, and a complex coastal ecosystem readily adjusted to the onslaught of gulf storms, tidal surges and shifting river channels. A diverse population of plant and animal life prospered, waned, recovered and achieved a fragile balance. Late in the 1700s, however, settlers began to venture into the 2,300-square-mile wilderness. Following the Gulf Coast from the east and west, and the Sabine, Calcasieu, and Mermentau rivers from the north, the new arrivals established homes and farms on the cheniers below the White, Grand, Calcasieu and Sabine lakes. The area's residents harvested the abundant resources of the region in concert with the ebb and flow of the seasons. Spring and summer gave them opportunities for crawfishing, shrimping, crabbing and gathering alligator eggs. During the fall and winter months, they hunted alligators and water-fowl, harvested oysters and ran trap lines for fur bearers.

US Army Corps of Engineers Photo

The land sustained the pioneers, and over time a diverse range of nationalities shaped the ethnic qualities of the region. French, Spanish, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian and African cultures blended together. Among them were the Acadian French whose style in language, food and music would eventually come to symbolize Louisiana for much of the nation.

It was, however, the 1940s that marked the beginning of the most radical change in the region's history. During that decade, large oil and gas deposits were discovered, and by the 1950s an oil boom had begun that would last for over 30 years.

The discovery brought new jobs, wealth, population growth, and eventually contributed to an ecological crisis in the wetlands. As southwestern Louisiana responded to a new form of commerce, an industrial work force supplanted the traditional economy. Roads were built, 2,000 miles of navigation channels and canals were dredged, and pipelines and oil rigs spread across the region. At the same time, spoil banks began to redirect and interrupt the natural flow of water through the marshes, oil- and gas-pipeline canals allowed the intrusion of salt water, and tidal fluctuations increased. This collision between man and marsh began a deterioration of both habitat and ecosystems that today virtually defines the social, economic and political issues of Region Four.