Louisiana’s Coast, Everyone’s Story
Public Education and Outreach Build Support for Coastal Restoration

For years Louisiana’s land loss was a problem nearly invisible even to those who lived in the region. As evidence of the crisis mounted, the urgency to inform people of its scope increased. Today it is widely accepted that successfully implementing policies to protect and restore Louisiana’s coast depends on broad public support. The following stories profile activities that develop awareness, generate support and engage people in pursuit of solutions.

Exhibits bring coastal issues to public notice

At a New Orleans boat show, fishing and boating enthusiasts crowd the CWPPRA booth to learn how Breaux Act partners rebuild marsh and restore fish habitat.

Children at the Black Bear Festival in Franklin, Louisiana, make paper-bag puppets as they and their parents hear how CWPPRA agencies restore and protect the endangered creature’s habitat.

Each year at conferences, expositions, schools, meetings and festivals, CWPPRA representatives talk to more than 100,000 Louisianans and tourists about the values and functions of Louisiana’s wetlands — and the ongoing battle to save them.

“We make presentations and display exhibits for everyone, from a few dozen garden club members to thousands at a boat show,” says Heidi Hitter, education and outreach coordinator for CWPPRA. At these events, CWPPRA representatives like Hitter provide printed materials, interactive CDROMs and activities to inform the public about Louisiana’s land loss crisis and the restoration efforts that offer a solid basis for hope.

“When we interact with the public we find that most people are aware of Louisiana’s coastal land loss, but they’re surprised to learn how complex and critical the problem really is,” says Hitter. “They’re amazed when we explain the importance of the coast and how losing it would affect their daily lives, no matter where in the country they live.”

Paths to understanding the coastal ecosystem

At the Barataria Preserve in Marrero, one of the six sites that comprise the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, visitors from around the world return from a nature walk “wide-eyed and buzzing with excitement,” says Angela Rathle, a ranger with the National Park Service.

“Barataria Preserve is our premier site for talking about wetlands and coastal issues,” Rathle says. “Here visitors can walk a nature trail that takes them through three distinct habitats — hardwood forest, swamp and marsh. The variety and abundance of life they see amaze them. They return to our visitor center full of questions and curious about wetland issues.”

At the visitor center, publications and an exhibit incorporating facts found in CWPPRA maps and materials explain how wetlands function and what role they play in Louisiana’s culture and economy. Guests talk one-on-one with park rangers about land loss and restoration. “Rangers also lead daily walks,” Rathle says, “giving us the chance to point out changes in the environment and talk about restoration projects completed at the preserve.”

Wetland lessons on the water

Much of the natural wonder of Louisiana’s coastal ecosystems isn’t accessible by highway or walking trail — it takes a boat to reach the wildest corners of the state’s wetlands.

A partnership between local tour operators and BTNEP enhances the educational aspect of boat trips into Louisiana’s swamps and marshes. Tour guides attend a daylong workshop with BTNEP staff, exchanging notes about the sites they explore and problems facing the entire estuary. CWPPRA fact sheets inform them about coastal restoration projects built in the areas they visit. As tour boats meander through marsh and swamp, guides talk not only about the diverse plants, birds and wildlife they encounter, but also about efforts underway to protect the vanishing estuarine ecosystem.

Trees quell waves long after the garlands are gone

There are numerous ways to support coastal restoration without getting wet or muddy, but many Louisianans are eager to get involved in hands-on projects. For them, a great opportunity comes right after Christmas.

Each year thousands of Louisiana households use their discarded Christmas trees to build brush fences in coastal waters. When secured in simple structures, the trees trap sediment and slow erosive waves, enhancing the growth of aquatic vegetation and stimulating the formation of new marsh. Tree branches provide habitat for fish, birds and animals.

The Christmas tree program, which the CWPPRA outreach committee promotes through postings on the On the water or in the field, directly experiencing conditions in Louisiana’s wetlands wins advocates for coastal restoration. Numerous programs sponsored by nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and government agencies provide opportunities for all ages and all levels of scientific involvement to learn about Louisiana’s coastal ecology. PIES WaterMarks 11 Breaux Act Newsflash and the Louisiana Wetland Educators Coalition (LaWEC) Web site, is administered by participating parishes and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) Coastal Engineering Division. Over the program’s 17-year history, local citizens have recycled over a million and a half trees, building fences in shallow bodies of open water, in abandoned oil field canals, in front of shorelines and along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

“The program also benefits coastal restoration by increasing public awareness of Louisiana’s environmental problems,” says Keith Lovell, a coastal resources scientist with LDNR. “People from New York to California have asked our advice about constructing brush fences. It’s an example of Louisiana sharing what we know and what we’re learning about how to conserve and protect our wetlands.”

Hunting for wetland protection

To the usual mix of scientists and engineers essential to the success of CWPPRA projects, add another group of specialists: nutria hunters.

“We estimate that presently nutria put over 34,000 acres of wetlands at risk,” says Edmond Mouton, a biologist program manager for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). “These voracious, exotic rodents feed on plant stems, roots and rhizomes and expose fragile marsh soils to erosion. If overgrazed areas cannot recover swiftly, they convert to open water.”

Their populations once held in check by a profitable fur market, nutria have proliferated in the past few decades. In 2002 CWPPRA, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, encouraged hunters to reduce nutria numbers by establishing the Coastwide Nutria Control Program, which pays for each nutria tail delivered to its collection centers. Since the program was introduced, the estimated acreage vulnerable to nutria has been cut by more than half.

For hunters, the program may be just another chapter in Louisiana’s long sporting tradition, but for managers at the 11 CWPPRA project sites reporting nutria activity, it is a means of engaging the public in crucial coastal protection. “Damage from nutria is ongoing,” says Mouton. “Hunters play a critical role in controlling this invasive species’ threat to our ecosystem’s stability.”