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Posted By:
Hal Brown
Date Posted:
Nov 17, 2007
Description:
With water all around it, a fire raged out on the bayou. About 100 years ago this part of Louisiana was an immense expanse of marshes dissected by streams and bayous covering 2.5 million acres. It was/is known as the Coastal Prairie.
This particular marsh is part of the Chenier Plain. The plain is about 120 miles long and 12 miles wide. It stands on top of old delta sediments. When the Mississippi delta moved eastward and stopped supplying sediment, waves eroded the coast leaving coarser sediments to form a beach in front of muddy marshes. Old beach ridges run through the marshes showing where older shorelines stood.
The coastal prairie of Louisiana lacks trees because of heavy clay soils and frequent fires. When it was first settled, there were actually bison just like on the Kansas prairies.
Louisiana is losing more than 25 to 30 square miles of coastal marshes per year. That accounts for 80% of the national total. Most of it is being lost to open water or converted to other use.
The President is not totally to blame for the loss of the marshland. Most of the loss is due to natural subsidence of the land and rising sea level. Of course the dredging of 8,200 miles of canals for oil exploration is a not inconsequential factor. Levees channelizing the rivers also share in the blame.
But who cares? The bison are gone and no one lives out here anyway. The biggest problem for seafood connoisseurs is the loss of critical shrimp habitat. Fifty percent of U.S. shrimp come from Louisiana. Marshes are where the youngsters hang out.
For duck hunters it is significant too. Seventy percent of all ducks following the Mississippi fly way use the Louisiana marshes.
The federal government, Louisiana and private ecological organizations have purchased large tracts of land for preservation. More than 800,000 acres are now included in wildlife refuges or management areas. The National Audubon Society has 23,000 square miles in two preserve areas.
The lack of roads prevent most people from seeing the marshes. You can get to them by boat, but it requires a long, determined voyage crossing shallow waters. The absolute best way to see it is by SeaRey.
Date Taken:
Nov 17, 2007
Place Taken:
South of White Lake, LA
Owner:
Dan Nickens
File Name:
13_Burning_Down_the_Bayou.jpg - Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZUF40000h">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZUF40000m">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZUF40000s">
Category:
289, An Indirect Relocation
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