Conservationists Connect People, Landscape
Firsthand Experiences Build Support for Coastal Protection

Conservationists aren’t born, they’re made, says Randy Lanctot, executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.

Whether fishing from a sandy beach, exploring a brackish marsh or gazing into the canopy of a centuries- old oak forest, he says, “We learn to appreciate and protect nature through experience. The goal of conservation is to preserve these places — and the experiences they offer us — wherever we can.” As they safeguard habitat critical for wildlife across southern Louisiana, conservation groups also ensure opportunities for the public to explore, enjoy and learn from coastal ecosystems.

Partnerships Protect Woodland Habitat

Each spring thousands of migrating birds drop from the skies over Louisiana’s Grand Isle, exhausted from their 500-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico. In the island’s oak-hackberry forests the birds find food, fresh water and a safe place to rest. Scientists and birdwatchers from around the world flock to Grand Isle to view, photograph and document the annual event — a boon not only to our understanding of migratory birds, but also to the island’s economy.

But Grand Isle’s forests face extinction, their trees cut to make room for houses, camps and businesses. Populations of many bird species have declined as the woods that once sheltered and fed them have been felled. To preserve the remaining woodlands, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a nonprofit conservation organization, purchased 30 acres of forest on Grand Isle and established management agreements with landowners to protect another 70 acres. “We’ve secured the largest, most ecologically valuable tracts of forest on the island,” says TNC’s Cindy Brown.

Through a birding festival, a birding trail and other projects, TNC and its partners on Grand Isle educate the public about the island’s forest. “Birders get it,” Brown says. “They already understand the importance of this forest for migrating birds. As we’ve improved public access to the forest, the concept of protecting these trees has caught on. From individual lot owners to the chamber of commerce, people across Grand Isle are engaged in preserving this unique habitat.”

Volunteers Visit Sanctuary’s Inner Reaches

Since 1924 the Audubon Society has protected the 26,000-acre Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Vermilion Parish, owning the land to shield it from encroaching development. The preserve is now threatened from within, as wind-driven waves erode the fragile shorelines of interior lakes.

“Eventually those lakes could coalesce, creating a very large body of open water,” explains Tim Vincent, the sanctuary’s manager. Working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the Audubon Society undertook a project to slow the rate of loss.

Some 36,000 feet of earthen terraces were built within open water areas to reduce wave action and protect shorelines. “The terraces also trap sediment, which will eventually rebuild marsh,” Vincent says.

When the terraces were completed, groups of volunteers and middle- and high school students trekked deep into the Rainey Sanctuary to plant smooth cordgrass on the terraces to hold the soil in place.

“In addition to protecting habitat for wildlife, Audubon is committed to engaging people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation work,” Vincent says. “The planting aspect of this project was an opportunity to bring people into the sanctuary so they could experience this wetland.”

Bringing Back the Beach

For generations of Louisianans, a day at the beach meant a short drive to Elmer’s Island, 1,700 acres of privately owned barrier beachfront, salt marsh and low dunes 50 miles south of New Orleans. For a small fee, families enjoyed fishing, crabbing, bird-watching and playing in the surf at one of the state’s few car-accessible sandy beaches.

But due to liability concerns, in 2002 the island was closed to the public, its gates locked and its land put up for sale.

The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) soon launched a campaign urging the state to buy and reopen Elmer’s Island. Public support was immediate and widespread. The state was interested, too. Nevertheless, efforts to buy the land moved slowly.

“By law, the state can pay only the appraised value of the property,” explains the LWF’s Randy Lanctot. “But the owner has not been willing to sell at that price.”

In 2005, the LWF enlisted the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a nonprofit organization that conserves land for public use, in the fight for Elmer’s Island. A purchase agreement between the owner and the trust may allow the TPL to buy the land from the Elmer family, then sell it to the state for the appraised value. The sale is not yet final, but Lanctot is hopeful.

“Our goal is to protect Elmer’s Island and other places like it,” Lanctot says, “so future generations can come to gain an appreciation for Louisiana’s coastal landscape.”