Rodent Invader Adds to Decline of Delta Wetlands

Photo from Greg Lasley Nature Photography

Most anglers know that Asian carp are harming this nation’s fisheries, from the Upper Midwest down to the Gulf Coast and eastward through the Ohio River watershed.

What many do not realize, however, is that another exotic also is doing severe damage. It doesn’t receive as much publicity because its range is more limited.

But down in Louisiana, the nutria, a large rodent, is devouring the wetlands, destroying spawning and nursery habitat for a multitude of important sport fisheries. In fact, the state estimates that damage at any given time is about 46,000 acres, as about 5 million of the web-footed animals with large, orange teeth feed on the roots and stalks of aquatic plants.

The good news is that damage has been lessened since Louisiana implemented a nutria control plan in 2002.

Still, this is one more blow to the Mississippi Delta, which already is under siege from decades of habitat degradation and mismanagement, most of it originating from development and water diversions. As a result, erosion and saltwater intrusion are crumbling away the equivalent of a football field every hour.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its aftermath added to the peril of an ecosystem that is critical for sustaining the food web of the Gulf of Mexico.

Fortunately, the spill also provided impetus for passage of the RESTORE Act, which provides a rare opportunity to restore and enhance the Delta and its wetlands. Guiding that restoration is a multi-state, multi-agency group known as the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.

And a coalition known as Vanishing Paradise is working to make sure that Council members remember the importance of habitat restoration, which can drive and support economic recovery.

“The people, business, communities, and economy of this region are undeniably reliant upon a healthy and productive Gulf, and ecosystem restoration should be the top priority in drafting and finagling the Council’s comprehensive restoration plan,” said spokesman Ben Weber.

To learn more about Vanishing Paradise and its efforts, go here.

And to learn more about the nutria in Louisiana, go here.

More Coastal Habitat Means More Fish

Photo by Robert Montgomery

No great surprise in the findings of a report entitled “More Habitat Means More Fish.”

Still, it lends strong evidence to the argument that investing in our nation’s coastal areas and estuaries leads to healthy habitat and robust fisheries, which positively impact local communities and economies dependent on recreational and commercial fishing.

Released by Restore America’s Estuaries and the American Sportfishing Association, the report includes the following: 

• More than 75 percent of our nation’s catch of commercial fish and 80-90 percent of the catch of recreational fish depend on key estuary habitat at some point in their lifecycle.
• Fish populations can respond quickly to habitat improvement and the impact will endure. Rebounds in fish populations can occur within months and persist for years.
• In San Francisco Bay, restored salt marshes have improved 41 fish species including steelhead trout, Pacific herring, green sturgeon and Chinook salmon.
• Since 2000, in Massachusetts and New York, herring, shad and sturgeon have doubled and tripled in population due to habitat restoration projects. Just two years after a single culvert was repaired, connecting Bride Brook to Long Island Sound, the herring population more than tripled from 75,000 to 287,000.
• An oyster reef restoration project in Alabama increased populations of several economically important species, including blue crab, red drum, spotted seatrout, and flounder. 

“Investing in coastal and estuarine habitat restoration is essential not only for the long-term future of our fisheries but also because it helps support economies and communities through the recreational and commercial fishing industries,” said Jeff Benoit, president and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries. “In order to have fish, we have to have healthy habitat. If we want more fish, we need healthier habitat.”

American Sportfishing Association President and CEO Mike Nussman noted, “As an industry, we are keenly aware of the impact that sportfishing has on our nation’s habitat restoration efforts. In many ways, America’s anglers are the nation’s most powerful force for conserving our nation’s fisheries and waters, investing more than $1 billion dollars each year in fisheries management and conservation through taxes on fishing equipment and state fishing license sales.”

Go here to see the full report.

Young Pro Staffer Speaks From the Heart for Gulf Restoration

Here’s a report from Vanishing Paradise about the testimony of its youngest pro staff member during a public meeting in New Orleans. He spoke on behalf of restoration for wetlands and other fisheries habitat on the Gulf Coast.  

Nine-year-old Sean Turner waited patiently for his turn to speak. When his name was called, he marched confidently to the microphone in a room packed wall-to-wall with over 200 policy makers, state and federal agency reps, reporters, scientists, and community leaders. His comments were simple and straightforward. 

"I love to fish in Louisiana and I've done it my entire life. It's important that we're able to fish because it means so much to all of us. This is a lot of money we are talking about. Don't mess this up. I want Louisiana's coast to stay here. I don't want to lose it because of some dumb oil spill."

As he uttered the last word of the simple message that came straight from his 9-year-old heart, the entire room BURST.... I mean literally BURST into riotous applause and shouts of support. People followed him out of the room clamoring to share words of thanks, support, and encouragement.

In a room of conservation, legal, scientific and policy professionals, Sean made the most honest and meaningful statement. Subsequent speakers cited his comments as they spoke to the RESTORE council representatives. "Sean said it best. We have to get this right. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to make sure that his generation has the opportunity to experience the Louisiana we love, and to share it with their children. We have to get this right"

I couldn't be more proud of Sean and his mother Marissa. They drove from their home an hour away, on their dime, to make their feelings know and to make a statement for future generations.
And Sean did it better than anyone in the room.

Go here to learn more.

EPA Over-Reach Reflected in House Defeat of Guidance for CWA Enforcement

Sacketts' landlocked home site was ruled a wetland by EPA, which threatened fines of more than $30,000 a day.

Regrettably, the U.S. House of Representatives has rejected an amendment that would clarify guidance for the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in protecting waters and wetlands.

But in this era in which headlines and hype trump facts and reality, I’m not surprised. Not long ago, we learned what a bully the federal government can be with its enforcement of the Clean Water Act. That undoubtedly colored judgment for many who voted against the amendment.

Little more than two months ago the U.S. Supreme Court came down forcefully on the side of an Idaho couple (Sacketts) in their fight against the EPA, ruling that the couple can challenge an agency order to stop construction of their home on a property designated as a wetland.

In an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court said the EPA cannot impose fines that could be as much as $75,000 a day without giving property owners the ability to challenge its actions.

“The reach of the Clean Water Act is notoriously unclear,” said Scalia.

“Any piece of land that is wet at least part of the year is in danger of being classified by EPA employees as wetlands covered by the act, and according to the federal government, if property owners begin to construct a home on a lot that the agency thinks possesses the requisite wetness, the property owners are at the agency’s mercy.”

The Sacketts’ home site is near a lake, but completely landlocked and within an existing subdivision.

 Yeah, I know, that seems to argue for the amendment and for clarification. But government over-reach in Idaho cast EPA and its enforcement of the Clean Water Act in a negative light for many Congressmen.

As did the comments from an EPA official regarding his policy of "crucifying" non-compliant oil and gas companies.

The Izaak Walton League, National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership provided the following information about the issue:

The U.S. House of Representatives today struck a blow against Clean Water Act protections for streams that supply drinking water to 117 million Americans and wetlands that provide critical flood protection and fish and wildlife habitat. The full House rejected an amendment to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with Clean Water Act guidance and a future rulemaking.

The FY 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill (HR 5325), which the House debated today, includes a provision barring the Corps of Engineers from taking any steps – next year or in any future year – to revise the agency’s guidance on waters protected by the Clean Water Act. Representatives Jim Moran (VA) and John Dingell (MI) offered an amendment to strike this damaging provision, which would allow the Corps to finalize and implement new, science-based clean water guidance.  Members of Congress who opposed this amendment voted to maintain the status quo of wetlands loss, stream pollution, and regulatory confusion.

“The vote today represented a clear choice between restoring Clean Water Act protections to critical streams and wetlands and postponing those protections indefinitely,” said Scott Kovarovics, Conservation Programs Director for the Izaak Walton League of America. “The amendment offered by Representatives Moran and Dingell provided a balanced path forward for clean water. Unfortunately, too many members of Congress chose not to take that path.”

“Clean water must be a bipartisan national priority,” said Steve Kline, Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Center for Agricultural and Private Lands. “Since 1972, the Clean Water Act has made significant progress in restoring and sustaining our nation’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands. The job is not done – and votes like today’s are a step in the wrong direction.”

Loss of Clean Water Act protections for small streams and wetlands could affect more than drinking water and wildlife habitat – it could hurt the nation’s economy. Hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation contribute billions to the economy, but these activities could be sharply curtailed by water pollution and loss of wetlands critical for ducks, trout, and other wildlife.

“American sportsmen greatly appreciate the efforts of Representatives Moran, Dingell, and others as they reminded the House what it seems to have forgotten: You can’t have fishable and swimmable waters if substantial numbers of wetlands and headwater streams go unprotected by the Clean Water Act,” said Steve Moyer, Vice President for Government Affairs for Trout Unlimited. “The Senate and the Obama Administration have rejected similar ill-conceived provisions in appropriations bills the past two years, and we urge them to do it again this year.”

Tell Congress to RESTORE Mississippi River Delta

Click on photo to like it on Facebook and support Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan.

You help still is needed to save the wetlands of the Mississippi Delta, which are critically important for healthy fish and waterfowl populations.

The Louisiana Legislature has just unanimously approved the first ever truly comprehensive blueprint for restoring those wetlands, which are eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of a football field an hour.

And here’s where you can help: Money from the federal RESTORE Act could be used to implement this Coastal Master Plan. Both the House and the Senate have passed versions of the bill, but now it is tied up in a lengthy conference process.

Tell your representatives in Congress that funding from the RESTORE Act is vital for protecting and enhancing the wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta and preserving all of the fishing and hunting that they sustain.

Vanishing Paradise says that up to 800 square miles of marshes will be restored with full implementation of the plan, while damage from floods and hurricanes will be reduced by $18 billion annually.

“Unfortunately, finding the money necessary to restore the delta and protect one of America’s most important hunting and fishing grounds will be a challenge,” it adds. “But if we don’t take action soon, an additional 1,700 square miles of wetlands could be lost over the next fifty years.”

Go here to learn more and to become an activist angler on behalf of the nation’s most valuable and endangered wetlands.