Archive for RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act


Restoring the Lower 9th Ward: A resilient vision for New Orleans

May 7, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Community Resiliency, Congress, Hurricane Katrina, People, Restoration Projects, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act, Videos

This post was originally published on the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Promise blog.

By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation’s Coastal Louisiana Organizer in New Orleans

What would you do if, in one day, you lost everything? I’m not just talking about your personal possessions; I’m talking about your entire community — your church, your grocery store, your school. The folks you meet in the video below, Warrenetta Banks and John Taylor, have lived out this scenario every day since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 and have chosen to respond with passion and dedication to recovery — advocating for smart, green urban planning on one side of the levee and a healthy wetland ecosystem on the other side of the levee.

Warrenetta and John are both lifelong residents of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. In the years since the catastrophic flooding, they’ve helped their community recover to be one of the “greenest” in the nation — solar panels, community gardens, and LEED certified homes are typical encounters as you walk down the street. That’s on one side of the levee.

Residents like Warrenetta and John understand all too well that the wetland ecosystem on the other side of the levee is critical to their future and safety. Healthy wetlands serve as a buffer to storm surges and winds and help the levees do their job to protect communities. National Wildlife Federation is one organization working closely with the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (where Warrenetta and John work) to plan and gain funding for restoration of the 400-acre cypress swamp bordering the community (featured in the video) as well as the entire 58,000 acres wetland ecosystem the swamp is connected to, which once buffered much of the Greater New Orleans area from storms and provided important wildlife habitat.

Without healthy wetlands, coastal communities like the Lower Ninth Ward remain very vulnerable to disasters. Urgent funding is needed for restoration. The RESTORE Act, legislation now making its way through the U.S. Congress, will use a portion of Clean Water Act penalties from the BP disaster to fund projects that will restore Gulf Coast ecosystems, including wetlands that protect communities and provide critical habitat for gulf wildlife. Right now, you can make a difference in the future of the Gulf Coast. Learn more about the RESTORE Act and share your voice!

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RESTORE Act passes with House transportation vote, now moves to conference

April 30, 2012 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives included Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) RESTORE Act amendment in their final version of the Surface Transportation Extension Act. The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the BP gulf oil spill towards Gulf Coast restoration. Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed versions of bill.

The House passed the transportation bill by a vote of 293-127, setting up a conference with the Senate. During conference, select members from each chamber will work together to reconcile differences in the bills. Gulf Coast leaders have shown remarkable leadership in advancing the RESTORE Act to this point. Please continue to thank these members for their hard work and let your congressperson know that you want to see the RESTORE Act signed into law this summer.

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Conservation Groups Laud Funding for Restoration Efforts from Senate

April 26, 2012 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in Congress, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Media Resources, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act, Senator Mary Landrieu

Federal funds will support critical restoration construction projects, jobs in Louisiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:   
Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org
Kevin Chandler, National Audubon Society, 202.596.0960, kchandler@audubon.org

(Washington, D.C.—April 26, 2011) Today, five national and local conservation groups praised the Senate Appropriations Committee for approving funding for critical restoration projects in Louisiana, including an effort to use sediment dredged from navigation waterways to recreate critical wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would receive $16.8 million for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) program to begin construction on LCA ecosystem restoration projects and $9.3 million to study future projects. This funding was part of President Obama’s budget request and was strongly supported by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

"This funding is an important step forward in helping restore critical wetlands around the Mississippi River Delta, as well as helping create new jobs in Louisiana. This is a win-win for the environment and the economy,” said the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation in a joint statement. "Thanks to the Appropriations Committee and Sen. Landrieu, these restoration projects will put sediment from the Mississippi River back to use creating wetlands that act as a speed bump for hurricanes and a natural storm buffer for communities.”

“We hope Congress will include this funding in the final version of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill,” the groups continued. “Taking these preventative actions now will make these areas less vulnerable to future disasters."

Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost more than 1,900 square miles of wetlands, an area roughly equivalent to the state of Delaware. The decline of the Mississippi River Delta’s wetlands has dramatically impaired protection from hurricanes and wiped out much of the buffer against future storms and disasters. The loss of wetlands also threatens:

  • One of our nation’s most important fisheries
  • One of our nation’s most significant port complexes and navigation systems
  • Wildlife, including tens of millions of migratory birds and waterfowl
  • Domestic energy production and processing
  • Communities all along the central Gulf Coast

The federal funding was provided in the Senate Appropriations Committee Report on the FY13 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill.

More restoration projects like the ones funded through this budget request would be possible with passage of the RESTORE Act. The legislation would dedicate 80 percent of oil spill penalties paid by BP and others responsible for the 2010 oil spill towards gulf restoration. The RESTORE Act has received strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

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New NWF Report: A Degraded Gulf of Mexico

April 10, 2012 | Posted by Kevin Chandler in BP Oil Disaster, Media Resources, Reports, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act
This story was originally posted by the National Wildlife Federation.

Wildlife and Wetlands Two Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster

By Jaclyn McDougal, National Wildlife Federation.

Dolphins in Gulf of Mexico, May 2010

As the two-year mark of the Deepwater Horizon blowout approaches, the National Wildlife Federation issued a new report today examining the health of the Gulf’s wildlife and wetlands. Impacts from the Gulf oil disaster will be unfolding for years, if not decades, and many species of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico will need the combined efforts of scientists, policymakers and regulators to recover.

A Degraded Gulf Of Mexico: Wildlife and Wetlands Two Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster (pdf) was written by National Wildlife Federation Senior Scientist Dr. Doug Inkley. The report is also available as an interactive graphic at www.nwf.org/OilSpill

Major highlights include:

  • The poor health in dolphins in the most heavily oiled areas and the spike in dolphin deaths suggest possible ecosystem-wide effects of the oil.
  • The Gulf’s already-endangered sea turtle population has been dealt a severe blow by the oil disaster. Already strained bluefin tuna, deep sea coral, Gulf wetlands and coastal habitats were also impacted.

“It’s important to remember what we don’t yet know. Previous catastrophes like the Exxon Valdez have shown that impacts of oil disasters last many years or even decades,” Inkley said. “Little action has been taken to address the long-term species threats and wetlands habitat degradation exacerbated by the oil disaster. Much more needs to be done to ensure a complete recovery.”

Other oil disasters have taken years to reveal their full effects, and often recovery remains incomplete after decades.

“It will be critical to monitor these key species in the months and years ahead, especially given the unknown impacts of weathered and ‘dispersed’ oil remaining in the Gulf,” said Dr. George Crozier, retired director of Dauphin Island Sea Lab. “This disaster hit an ecosystem already weakened by years of wetlands degradation, including coastal areas around the Mississippi River Delta losing a football field worth of land every hour.”

The April 20, 2010 blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and the Macondo well would eventually release nearly 206 million gallons of oil, providing a new setback to a Gulf ecosystem already struggling with years of wetlands degradation and the destructive power of Hurricane Katrina.

“It is essential for Congress to pass the RESTORE Act to reinvest penalties and fines to restoring the Gulf,” said David Muth, state director of NWF’s Mississippi River Delta program. “Without legislation to direct fines and penalties from the oil disaster to restoring the Gulf Coast’s wetlands and coastal ecosystems and a comprehensive Gulf Coast restoration program, the outlook for Gulf recovery will remain uncertain.”

Download the full report here: A Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife and Wetlands Two Years Into the Gulf Oil Disaster (pdf)

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86% of Louisiana voters support adoption of 2012 Coastal Master Plan

April 3, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in 2012 Coastal Master Plan, BP Oil Disaster, Media Resources, Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

Overwhelming majorities agree coast vital to future and can be saved 

(Baton Rouge, La.—April 3, 2012) Eighty-six percent of Louisiana voters say they want their legislators to approve the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, according to a new poll released today. The plan lays out a 50-year vision for protecting and restoring the coast, including increased hurricane risk reduction for coastal communities and reconnecting the Mississippi River with disappearing coastal wetlands. Overwhelming majorities of the voters surveyed in the poll believe the state’s coastal areas and wetlands are important to the state’s future and express optimism that the coast can be restored, despite decades of decline.

Nearly all respondents, both in coastal and non-coastal areas of the state, feel that Louisiana’s coastal areas and wetlands are very important to the future of Louisiana.

“This poll shows Louisiana voters feel strongly that our state’s coastal areas and wetlands are crucial to our future,” said Buster McKenzie, president of Baton Rouge-based Southern Media & Opinion Research, Inc., which conducted the poll. “An overwhelming majority of voters want their legislators to approve the 2012 Coastal Master Plan because they agree that coastal Louisiana can be saved if the projects in the master plan are implemented.”

The state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority unanimously approved the 2012 Coastal Master Plan Mar. 21 and sent it to the state legislature Mar. 26. The legislature must approve the plan for it to take effect.

The poll found extremely high agreement statewide that Louisiana’s coastal areas and wetlands are “very important” to the state’s future:

  • 91 percent of voters statewide,
  • 98 percent of coastal voters,
  • 87 percent of non-coastal voters (with an additional 11 percent saying “somewhat important”).

Additionally, the poll found that 88 percent of respondents express optimism that when adequate funding becomes available, coastal areas can in fact be saved. Two potential sources of funding include Natural Resource Damage Assessment dollars from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster and legislation in Congress that would dedicate 80 percent of expected billions in penalties from the disaster to Gulf Coast restoration, including in Louisiana. Both houses of Congress have approved similar versions of the legislation, the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act. However, Congress still needs to resolve the differences between the two bills and get a final bill to the president’s desk before it can become law.

“Voters clearly realize that the state master plan is critically important to saving Louisiana as we know it because it will protect jobs, communities, fisheries and wildlife.  That’s why it’s no surprise that such an overwhelming majority of voters in the state believe that coastal areas and wetlands can — and must — be saved,” said a joint statement by the Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy. “The message is clear: Let’s pass the 2012 Coastal Master Plan and get this vital work underway as soon as possible.”

The statewide telephone poll was conducted between Mar. 23 and Mar. 27, 2012. It sampled 801 registered, likely Louisiana voters, based on previous voting patterns.

The poll was funded by the National Audubon Society and has a margin of error of ± 4.0 percent.

Contacts:
Buster McKenzie, Southern Media & Opinion Research, 225-383-4509, mckenzie@smor.com
David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601-642-7058, dringer@audubon.org
Scott Madere, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225-767-4181, scottm@crcl.org
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202-550-6524, scrowley@edf.org
John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504-421-7348, johnlopez@pobox.com
Chris Macaluso, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, 225-344-6707, chris@lawildlifefed.org
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225-253-9781, guidrye@nwf.org
Karen Gautreaux, The Nature Conservancy, 225-788-4525, kgautreaux@tnc.org

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What does the 90-day transportation bill extension mean for the RESTORE Act?

April 2, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund

With a March 31 deadline quickly approaching, last Thursday (March 29), the U.S. House and Senate passed a 90-day extension to the surface transportation bill. This extension means we will need to continue working hard to ensure the RESTORE Act stays alive and is included in the final version of the bill.

Oiled vegetation in Pass a Loutre, La. May 22, 2010. Credit: NOAA.

The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the gulf oil spill toward gulf environmental and economic restoration. Earlier this month, we reported a big win for the RESTORE Act after the Senate approved it as an amendment to their version of a new two-year highway bill. This was an impressive bipartisan win, with 76 senators voting yes on the amendment.

Last week's extension signals that the House did not agree to the terms proposed in the two-year Senate bill. The extension gives the two chambers an extra three months to craft a bill that both the House and Senate can agree on. While nothing is certain during the next three months, it is important to remember all the wins the RESTORE Act has had thus far — wins that both sides will have difficulty forgetting while moving forward on a final version of the transportation bill.

In February, House Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) introduced and passed an amendment dedicating 80 percent of expected Clean Water Act penalties from the spill towards gulf restoration. In the Senate, the RESTORE Act passed out of the Environment and Public Works Committee in September, and just weeks ago, the Senate overwhelmingly approved it as an amendment. When Congress begins to put together a long-term transportation bill, they must not forget these important wins.

The RESTORE Act is still alive and well, especially in the minds of Congress and those in the gulf who need it most. Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to encourage Congress to continue fighting for oil spill restoration in the gulf. Without action on the RESTORE Act in the new transportation bill, the Gulf Coast may lose out on desperately needed restoration funding. We must continue to energize the Gulf Coast delegation and let them know how much the RESTORE Act means to the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast.

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Dredging Contractors of America sends letter to Congress in support of the RESTORE Act

March 29, 2012 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund

Last week, the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), the national nonprofit trade association for the dredging industry, sent a letter to House leadership in support of the RESTORE Act – legislation that would ensure that oil spill fines are used for gulf restoration.

“The RESTORE Act appropriately allocates 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties, as a result of the BP oil spill, to the five Gulf Coast states, and establishes an effective management and financing framework for the economic and ecological recovery for years to come,” says DCA executive director Barry W. Holliday in the letter. “DCA believes that this bill seeks to balance the ecological and economic interests of a comprehensive restoration plan.”

Mechanical dredge. Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

“We urge you to pass the Transportation Bill that includes the RESTORE Act to ensure that the BP oil spill penalties can be used for ecosystem and economic recovery in those states and communities directly harmed by the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history,” concludes the letter.

The Dredging Contractors of America has been representing the interests of the U.S. dredging and marine construction industry for over 30 years. Its membership includes 11 large dredging companies, 17 small companies and three associate members nationwide. Member companies work on the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Great Lakes, inland rivers, Alaska and Hawaii. Their mission is “to improve the quality and responsiveness of dredging service delivery to the Nation, ensuring that America’s ports, waterways, wetlands and beaches are efficiently constructed and maintained in an environmentally sustainable manner using innovative methods and American ingenuity.”

Learn more about DCA on their website: http://www.dredgingcontractors.org/.

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Hill ads praise 76 senators for passing gulf restoration amendment

March 27, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, Media Resources, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

Groups pledge to work with senators to ensure final passage of legislation

News Release (Washington, D.C.—March 27, 2012) Capitol newspapers will run full-page color ads this week by six Gulf restoration advocacy groups thanking the 76 Senators who approved legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf.

The ad copy says:

“On behalf of our members nationwide, we thank the 76 Senate leaders who voted in favor of restoring the ecosystems and economies of the Gulf region by passing the RESTORE Act as an amendment to the transportation bill.

The RESTORE Act will help repair and strengthen the environment, communities and businesses in the Gulf still suffering nearly two years after the unprecedented Gulf oil disaster.

We look forward to working with you to ensure final passage of RESTORE into law.”

The ads are paid for by: National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, Oxfam America, and Ocean Conservancy. The ads will run on the following dates in the following newspapers:

The House already has approved a similar RESTORE Act amendment sponsored by Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.) as part of the House transportation bill.

Contacts:
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3331, scrowley@edf.org
David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org
David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org
Laura Rusu, Oxfam America, 202.496.1169, lrusu@oxfamamerica.org

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Gulf ads thank gulf senators for passing gulf restoration amendment

March 23, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, Media Resources, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

62 Gulf businesses, business groups, restoration advocacy groups sign ads

News Release

(Washington, D.C.—March 23, 2012) Five Gulf state newspapers will run full-page color ads starting today thanking the nine Gulf senators who recently voted in favor of legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf ecosystem and economy.

The ads features a “thank you” from 62 Gulf businesses, business groups and restoration advocacy groups to the nine Gulf senators who “led an overwhelmingly bipartisan group of 76 senators to pass the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act [to] help repair and strengthen the communities, businesses and environment…still suffering nearly two years after the unprecedented Gulf oil disaster.”

The full-page color ads, which cost a total of $45,000, are paid for by: National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, Oxfam America, and Ocean Conservancy. The ads will run on the following dates in the following newspapers:

*Cosponsored and voted for RESTORE Act
** Voted for RESTORE Act

The House already has approved a similar RESTORE Act amendment sponsored by Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.) as part of the House transportation bill.

The Gulf businesses, business groups and restoration advocacy groups signing the thank you ads include:

  1. Alabama Coastal Foundation
  2. Alabama Forest Resources Center
  3. Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce
  4. Alabama Wildlife Federation
  5. American Shore and Beach Preservation Association
  6. American Shore and Beach Preservation Association – Texas Chapter
  7. Apalachee Land Conservancy
  8. Baton Rouge Audubon Society
  9. Biohabitats, Inc.
  10. Birmingham Audubon Society
  11. Canal Barge Company, Inc.
  12. Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
  13. Coast Builders Coalition
  14. Coastal Bend Audubon Society
  15. Coastal Resiliency Coalition
  16. Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast
  17. The Conservation Fund
  18. Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary
  19. Dredging Contractors of America
  20. Environmental Defense Fund
  21. Florida’s Nature Coast Conservancy
  22. Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
  23. Florida Wildlife Federation
  24. Francis M. Weston Audubon Society
  25. Galveston Bay Foundation
  26. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC
  27. Greater New Orleans, Inc.
  28. Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association
  29. Gulf Restoration Network
  30. Gulf United Metro Business Organization
  31. Houston Audubon Society
  32. Houston Wilderness
  33. Keith and Schnars, P.A.
  34. Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  35. Land Trust Accreditation Commission
  36. Land Trust Alliance
  37. Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain
  38. Louisiana Restaurant Association
  39. Louisiana Wildlife Federation
  40. Mississippi Coast Audubon Society
  41. Mississippi Hospitality & Restaurant Association
  42. Mississippi Wildlife Federation
  43. Mobile Bay Audubon Society
  44. Mobile Baykeeper
  45. National Audubon Society
  46. National Parks Conservation Association
  47. National Wildlife Federation
  48. The Nature Conservancy
  49. New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau
  50. Ocean Conservancy
  51. Oktibbeha Audubon Society
  52. Orleans Audubon Society
  53. Oxfam America
  54. Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation
  55. South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce
  56. St. Bernard Parish Government
  57. Texas Conservation Alliance
  58. Tierra Resources LLC
  59. Weeks Bay Foundation
  60. Weeks Marine
  61. Weston Solutions, Inc.
  62. Women of the Storm

Contacts:
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3331, scrowley@edf.org
David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org
Heather Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 703.475.1733, hlayman@tnc.org
David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org
Laura Rusu, Oxfam America, 202.496.1169, lrusu@oxfamamerica.org

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NWF tour finds BP oil still soaking Louisiana marshes, menacing wildlife

March 22, 2012 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in Birds, BP Oil Disaster, Media Resources, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act, Science, Wildlife

This story was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Promise blog.

By Miles Grant, National Wildlife Federation

Tar mat coats marsh in Bay Jimmy off Louisiana's Barataria Bay, March 2012 (NWF staff photo)

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) this week led a boat trip to Louisiana marshes hit hard by the Gulf oil disaster. The trip made depressingly clear that while national attention has moved on and Congress still hasn’t passed legislation to restore the Gulf, much BP oil remains, it’s easy to find and it’s never far from the Gulf’s wildlife.

The trip out of Myrtle Grove Marina with Captain Dave Marino was led by David Muth, state director of NWF’s Mississippi River Delta campaign, David White, director of NWF’s Gulf of Mexico Restoration campaign and Alisha Renfro, NWF coastal scientist.

“As they headed south to the corner of Barataria Bay called Bay Jimmy, the tide was high and winds were blowing strong at 20 miles an hour out of the southeast,” said NWF’s David White. “That drove water high up into the marsh, obscuring the oiled edges denuded of vegetation. With such a high water line, it was hard to determine exactly how much oil might remain.”

After finding a safe place to land, it became clear that despite BP’s efforts to mop and scrape marshes, oil remains in various stages of weathering and decomposition. On the surface, it’s now weathered into tar — some small clumps and other large mats — and it’s there for the long term.

“There were a few patches in the marsh that were completely devoid of vegetation. They smelled like asphalt,” said NWF’s Alisha Renfro. “Because it’s so thick, natural processes like sunlight and bacteria have a hard time breaking down the hydrocarbons. It ends up serving like a cap on the marsh surface — a hardened seal that blocks light and gas exchange, diminishes growth and creates a dead zone with little new life. However, baby fiddler crabs and other marsh invertebrates could be seen scuttling across the dead surface.”

Dead American White Pelican with oil on it in Louisiana's Bay Jimmy, March 2012 (NWF staff photo)

In the tar-covered marshes, NWF staff found a dead and decomposed American White Pelican. Liquid oil was visible on its wing feathers, its origin mysterious, until the staff made a new discovery.

“Wherever we stood in the marshes, liquid oil would squeeze out of the sediment. I probed the ground a little and didn’t see the oil right at the surface, so it was probably coming from several centimeters down,” said NWF’s Alisha Renfro. “During the winter, with cooler temperatures, this oil would be thicker and harder to see since it’s not at the surface, but as it has gotten warmer the oil is far less viscous and can seep back to the marsh surface.”

It’s impossible to know when the oil got on the pelican or contributed to its death. “A large flock of pelicans nearby had settled on another marshy shoreline that had been similarly oiled. They appeared healthy with no signs of oiling from a distance,” said NWF’s David Muth. “But the dead bird provided a stark reminder that nearly two years into the Gulf oil disaster, the BP oil remains a daily fact of life for the Gulf’s wildlife.”

American White Pelicans in Louisiana's Barataria Bay, March 2012 (NWF staff photo)

As you can see in additional photos from the trip at NWF’s Flickr page, marshes continue to show signs of degradation and retreat. That follows the trend NWF staff have witnessed in recent trips, like the collapse of Cat Island’s mangrove trees from a thriving rookery for Brown Pelicans and other birds in 2010 to a patch of brown lifeless sticks in 2011.

The trip was a reminder that Mississippi River Delta restoration is needed now more than ever. While the Senate passed the RESTORE Act as part of its transportation bill, the House has yet to act.

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