Field visit to Venice Louisiana

This week has been even more exciting than last. I began the week with our field visit to Venice Louisiana. We left early Friday morning and headed down south. The idea of the trip was to visit and see first hand some of the restoration and protection projects in the area. As it turned out we were introduced to a few locals who had very strong opinions on the proposed diversions.

We first visited with Ryan Lambert a charter fisherman with Cajun Adventures. He took us out on his boat in Bay Denese and Grand Bay to see one of the natural diversions they have. He talked to us about how just that small diversion has done so much for his industry and the marsh on the east side of the river. We were able to physically see what the increase in flow of the water and the suspended sediment could do. He also showed us some terracing that had been put in place a few years ago and told us how much more productive the area had become since its implementation. Ryan had very strong feelings on why he thought diversions were the right option because of the effect he has seen them have on his property.

Pipeline left behind after the completion of the marsh creation project.

Marsh buggy left after the completion of the marsh creation project.

Later that afternoon we met up with Acy Cooper and his partner with the Louisiana Shrimpers Association. We were welcomed on to their shrimping boats as they took us to the West side of the river and showed us a dredging project recently completed by the Army Corps of Engineers. He explained that the sediment used for the project was taken from the Gulf and that because the land was built up so quickly he and other shrimpers will be able to continue what they live to do. One of the issues I learned they have with the diversions is the introduction of too much fresh water. The shrimping industry relies on saltier water than Ryan's fishing industry does so the disagreement on the diversions continues. Acy and the other shrimpers were also convinced by the physical presence of so much new land in such a short time period.

Acy showing us how his boat and nets work.

That night we met with a few of the locals and talked to them about their lifestyle and their opinions on what is going on. I'm sure you can imagine we got some pretty colorful responses. An interesting thing I kept hearing was how much in the dark they felt about the projects and proposals being implemented by agencies and government.

Finally, Saturday morning we met with a osyterman Henry McAnespy who showed us a suction dredge project also recently completed. He explained that the sediment was pumped from the river and placed into West Point La Hache. This project was completed in less than a year and it was amazing how much solid land was created. Henry too was anti-diversion with his fear of too much freshwater encroaching on his oyster lease and the time frame in which the project was completed.

It is hard to tell what you should believe or what is the best option when there are so many opposing views. It is however, easy to agree that something must be done, and fast.

As for in the studio I am continuing my work on SWAMP and have been tasked with finding a way to make the boring subject more entertaining for the general public (please send any ideas my way). I have also been assigned to create a field report of everything we learned and saw while in Venice. Myself and two other interns have been working on the report which will also help leverage funding for the studio and future trips.