Washing Away: Losing Louisiana's Wetlands and Culture

"If you drive a car in America, if you use heating oil, you are depending on a viable, healthy, system of wetlands in Louisiana.  Everything is connected...The wetlands are who we are and we are truly wetlands people, have been for generations."
- Kerry St. Pé, Director of the Barrataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program

Louisiana is known for its unique coastal population, one that exemplifies diversity and a strong cultural heritage. The people that reside in this region rely heavily on the surrounding wetlands for their livelihood, economic prosperity, and their cultural identity. Kerry St. Pé, Director of the Barrataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program and lifelong resident of south Louisiana, shares his perspective on wetland loss and consequent loss of a culture.

Land Cover Types that Wetlands have been Lost To or Gained From, 1996 to 2006
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Changes in wetlands land coverage in the Gulf of Mexico coastal watershed area from 1996 to 2006. Source: NOAA Coastal Services Center, 2006; National Ocean Service, 2011

For more information:

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program

The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance Report