- Disaster in the Wetlands
- Paradise Under Siege
- Sporting Chance
- Examples
- Sportsmen's Stake
- Interview
- Nurture Enthusiasm
- Credits
Hurricane Damage Offers Glimpse of Future
Sportsman’s Paradise Under Siege
Duck hunters crisscrossing the southwestern Louisiana wetlands in October 2005 found once-green grasses and dense submerged aquatic plants turned brown and withered.
Thrust inland by Hurricane Rita’s storm surge, saltwater laid waste to thousands of acres of wetland vegetation. As a result, for the first several weeks of the season, marshes that had fed and sheltered millions of waterfowl the previous year held far fewer birds.
The world-renowned recreational fisheries of coastal Louisiana depend on the state's wetlands, which provide food, shelter and nursery habitat to popular game fish like red drum.Courtesy of Dave and Karen Soileau, Jr.
“Whether it’s from storm surge or the gradual result of land loss, saltwater intrusion has the same effect: It kills freshwater marsh vegetation, sending wildlife in search of better habitat,” says Darryl Clark of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Rita’s damage was temporary, and by January the ducks had returned to southwest Louisiana. But wetland loss caused by prolonged saltwater intrusion takes much longer to repair.” Clark says the 2005 hurricane season not only highlighted the importance of restoration to protect coastal communities, but for sportsmen, it also provided a sobering reminder of what will happen if we don’t rebuild our wetlands.
Each fall and winter, duck hunters reap the benefits of Louisiana’s location along the Mississippi Flyway, a major bird migration route connecting Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.Courtesy of Ronald Paille
Land Loss Threatens Louisiana Traditions
Dependent upon the unique ecosystems of the state’s wetlands, hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities have long been integral to Louisiana’s culture.
As migrating birds complete their springtime journey north across the Gulf of Mexico, they find food, fresh water and resting perches in Louisiana’s wetlands. Seizing the opportunity to view birds that have come from as far away as the southernmost tip of South America, birdwatchers take to the America’s Wetland Birding Trail, which features 115 sites across Louisiana’s coastal zone.
Courtesy of Louisiana Office of Tourism
“Families have fished and hunted our wetlands for generations, forging traditions that are the foundation of our culture,” says Secretary Angele Davis of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. “Each year, thousands of visitors come to our state to experience that culture — through our cuisine, for example, or by participating in sporting and ecotourism activities that comprise a traditional Louisiana way of life.” The annual economic impact of hunting, fishing, bird watching and other outdoor activities in Louisiana totals more than $7 billion, including $700 million spent by tourists.
Louisiana’s world-famous cuisine owes much to the state’s wetlands; generations of Louisianans have harvested the coast and marshes for crawfish, shrimp and fish — signature ingredients in Cajun and Creole cooking.Courtesy of Louisiana Office of Tourism
“Even beyond the dollars they bring to the state,” says Clark, “the wetlands have value and meaning. What price tag do you put on seeing a bald eagle, or watching a great egret in breeding plumage on a nest with chicks? If we lose the wetlands, we lose those experiences and our sporting traditions forever.”
Land loss threatens the wetland habitats of hundreds of species of birds, from natives like the great egret to migrating ducks, geese and songbirds.Courtesy of Louisiana Office of Tourism