Protecting the Coast
Brogan Burns features editor Louisiana’s land loss crisis continues to erase the coast. “We need to protect, restore, and conserve every acre that we possibly can,” says Polly Glover, project manager of Restore or Retreat, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Louisiana coast.. Each generation is doing work to protect the coast from education, to front-line work and advocacy. “We need to protect, restore, and conserve every acre that we possibly can.” Polly Glover Educating Susan Testroet-Bergeron, current geology instructor at Nicholls and former director of the Barrataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program, is now using education to protect the coast. Bergeron, a baby boomer, is working to instill her college students with a desire to take action on Louisiana’s coast. “It came to mind that I should do something important for other people,” Bergeron says. “It gives me a chance to share that knowledge with the next generation because they are inheriting a lot of environmental and geological issues.” Bergeron has begun to see the fruits of her labor only months into teaching, as students are learning new things about the coast. She says some students are even getting involved. “Coastal geology opened my eyes to how much we take Louisiana for granted. I learned that the land isn’t guaranteed,” says Anne-Morgan Simmons, a student in Bergeron’s coastal geology class. “Now that I understand it, I can’t unsee it or ignore it.” Bergeron’s work as an educator is important to the future of the coast, as it inspires the younger generation to protect the coast. “Without education, we won’t be able to inspire new generations of coastal advocates who want to go into careers that will eventually work on saving the coast,” says Nicki Boudreaux, director of education and engagement at BTNEP. “Coastal geology opened my eyes to how much we take Louisiana for granted. I learned that the land isn’t guaranteed. Now that I understand it, I can’t unsee it or ignore it.” Anne-Morgan Simmons In the Field Another place to make progress for Louisiana’s coast is in the field. Hayden David, a member of Gen Z and a biology major at Nicholls, is working at the BTNEP Plant Nursery, helping cultivate plants for use in restoration projects. Recent work focused on a high marsh area near Port Fourchon, which has shown early signs of success. “We’ve seen a larger resurgence of habitat in that high marsh area. So from what we’re doing at BTNEP and planting marsh, we are seeing areas sustained by our plants,” David said. “Us growing the plants here and going out and planting them on the coast is helping.” Other opportunities for students to combat coastal erosion are using drones to conduct aerial land surveys to determine how much land has been lost or taking part in the mass communication department’s environmental class, which is working closely with restoration organizations like BTNEP to plan events and spread awareness. Advocacy Glover, a member of Gen X and the program director of Restore or Retreat, has made a career of advocacy. She has spent most of her career speaking up for others and advocating for Louisiana’s wetlands. “My job consists of going out and getting the volunteers to come with us to participate in projects and site-specific vegetative plantings out in the wetlands in South Louisiana,” Glover says. Her stories of coastal land loss are what make her advocacy so powerful. She grew up on the coast, experiencing it with her father, a state-employed engineer working on the coast. “He introduced me to the wetlands as a young child, so I had the opportunity to watch it all disappear,” Glover says. “That drives my advocacy.” Glover has shared her story at conferences focused on restoration efforts and in front of government officials to push restoration bills. Her story became so powerful that it gained national and international attention in an interview with the Washington Post, helping to spread awareness of the crisis even further. Sharing stories of coastal life, Boudreaux says, is the best way to spread awareness of the coastal crisis. “Tell your stories, that’s the most important thing,” Boudreaux says. Everyone’s Work Not everyone has a story like Glover’s, does fieldwork like David, or teaches at a university like Bergeron, but everyone can do something, says Bergeron. One easy way to get involved is to vote. Bergeron says, “Citizens have the responsibility, if they live in America, to contact their delegates and say, ‘this is how I want you to vote.’” Volunteering your time and passing on lived experiences to the younger generation is another thing everyone can do to effect change. “Volunteer your time when you can to help with restoration projects, teach your kids the way of life you experienced, taking them hunting and fishing,” Boudreaux says. “All of that is key to educating people.” A closer look Generations on the Coast Troy Daigle video editor https://youtu.be/2Ifq1euZW2whttps://youtu.be/hLM3qRO8sq8https://youtu.be/WkxmsYF-lCk
Communities on the Edge
Matt Santiago staff writer Communities along the coast are threatened by growing land loss. According to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), Louisiana has lost almost 2,000 square miles of land since the 1930s, with an additional 3,000 square miles of land potentially being lost in the next 50 years. But this isn’t just land, it’s communities like Isle de Jean Charles, Cocodrie and Venice. “A narrow strip of land, that’s where everyone lives now,” says Kerry St. Pé, former director of BTNEP and Port Sulphur native. The loss of land, homes, and culture that St. Pé felt in his home is something that almost all coastal residents can relate to. “The house that I grew up in,” St. Pe says. “I flew over Port Sulphur, and I couldn’t see our home.” When land is lost, homes are lost, and, eventually, culture is lost. “I know you view things differently as a child, but still, the land that I can remember was so much larger than what we have now,” says Chad Willingham, a native of Grand Isle. “The marsh behind Grand Isle, you did not always see these large portions of water.” The barrier islands and marshes help reduce storm surge, according to the CPRA. The loss of these islands and marshes only increases the risk of flooding, leading to further land loss. Willingham says, “It’s one thing for a scientist to say ‘you lose a football field of wetlands every hour’ and that’s staggering, but it doesn’t have the same effect on somebody unless they live in it and they can tell you what it feels like to experience a situation like that.” “It’s one thing for a scientist to say ‘you lose a football field of wetlands every hour’ and that’s staggering, but it doesn’t have the same effect on somebody unless they live in it and they can tell you what it feels like to experience a situation like that.” Chad Willingham Golden Meadow, Louisiana Matt Santiago The gulf beach on Grand Isle, Louisiana Matt Santiago Grand Isle, Louisiana Matt Santiago Chauvin, Louisiana Matt Santiago A closer look Communities on the Edge Mark Bourgeois staff https://youtu.be/2Ifq1euZW2whttps://youtu.be/hLM3qRO8sq8https://youtu.be/WkxmsYF-lCk
The Business of Land Loss
Brogan Burns features editor On average flooding causes 15.2 billion dollars in damage annually, but the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says as land around levee systems erodes that yearly average could increase to 24.3 billion dollars. The CPRA says that increase could be “catastrophic” in other areas of the economy. Economic troubles caused by flooding are the result of increasingly strong hurricanes, which are strengthened by a shrinking coast with an ever decreasing buffer zone from water. And as the buffer zone decreases, water continues to move closer. “Deterioration of coastal marshes means these levees are increasingly exposed to open water,” according to the Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana report. “All infrastructure along the unleveed corridors is subject to sinking and exposure to waves, tides, and storm surges.” That destruction has caused insurance costs to increase across Louisiana’s coastal regions. Galiano resident Mary Gisclair saw her home owner’s policy double in price recently and flood insurance more than triple in the last seven years. “My home owners policy, which used to cost $2,000 is now $4,000,” she says. “And following [Hurricane] Ida, flood insurance went from $300 up to $1,000 now.” “My home owners policy, which used to cost $2,000 is now $4,000.” Mary Gisclair A rise in prices can be attributed to the cost of rebuilding, which has influenced the price of claims for insurance companies. “The cost to rebuild or repair a home or business has gone up significantly, and this is a factor used to determine premiums,” according to America’s Flood. “That price increase translates into an increase in the cost of claims for flood insurance companies, forcing them to increase premiums further.” Gisclair says it is hurting people who struggle to keep up with rising costs. “I drive through and there are still houses with tarps on them [from Ida] because either they didn’t receive their claim or haven’t found contractors,” Gisclair says. Following the hurricane, watching homes and buildings left damaged, she says she realized how hard the effects of insurance increases were on others. “It’s a shame because a lot of people can’t afford to pay an extra $2,000 every year.” Businesses Depend on Coastal Land Troy Daigle video editor https://youtu.be/3p8seLONawAhttps://youtu.be/i_zk72Lu_Kk