I’m no hunter, nor much of a fisherman, but it didn’t take long for me to figure out how central those activities are to Louisiana’s identity.
You don’t put something on your license plate if you don’t think it’s important.
There’s no doubt all the hunting and fishing that goes on here wouldn’t be so popular if it wasn’t for the unique ecological conditions that give Louisiana landscapes and wildlife unlike anywhere else in the country.
Louisiana is a perfect storm of the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico and a humid subtropical climate all coming together to create a truly unique region that’s perfect for killing things.
That’s why it’s so upsetting, and frankly confusing, to see Louisiana legislators write off efforts to preserve the coastline and delta ecosystems year after year.
Presumably, most of these legislators grew up in Louisiana, and either they or a family member probably hunted or fished out in its rural areas. And I doubt a single person is unaware of the massive amount of land loss from Katrina and the years after.
But still, the state has tried repeatedly to ignore the problem.
Last year, the state legislature tried to redirect federal relief funding for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to fill other gaps in the budget. Only intense pressure from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and other conservation groups prevented the funds from being misused.
“We have the world’s fastest rate of land loss over the last century, and most of the oil washed up here,” Chris Macaluso, coastal outreach coordinator for the Louisiana Wildlife Foundation told NOLA.com. “There’s no other way to look at it; that money needs to go to the coast.”
This year, the state will be receiving even more of that money, so it will be even more tempting to squirrel away that money for tax cuts for trillionaires or whatever Bobby Jindal’s fancy is that week.
The RESTORE Act, passed last July, states that 80 percent of BP’s fines under the Clean Water Act will be distributed among the states of the Gulf Coast according to need. These fines are expected to reach up to $21 billion, and with Louisiana having by far the largest problem with coastal recession, there’s a substantial amount of money at play here.
That’s why it’s so important that Louisianians stay vigilant.
A meeting will be held at 5 p.m. today at the Lake Charles Civic Center with the council overseeing spending of discretionary funds from the RESTORE Act, and I urge anyone who cares about to go and make his or her voice heard.
And if you think it’ll be a waste of time to make the two-hour drive to Lake Charles just to be ignored by some bored bureaucrats, take heart.
“There’s a sentiment that people on these types of councils don’t listen,” Macaluso said. “Having worked for years with these guys, I can tell you: They listen. This is an opportunity to make an impact.”
Maybe I can’t blame you for wanting to stay as far as possible from Lake Charles, but if we don’t act, when the wetlands are gone, the sportsmen and nature lovers of Louisiana will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Gordon Brillon is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Lincoln, R.I.
