At GRN, We review thousands of wetland permit requests every year. We can only comment on the worst — the largest harm to restoration, and unjust impacts to communities. You, our members, know more about the land around you.Public agencies must uphold the public trust. They should know about a wetland before it’s filled or cut, and we need you to call and email them with your local knowledge. Experience tells us that too often, powerful companies weigh more in the minds of public agencies than the public interest. But the government does consider local information in their decisions. Change–the best change–does come from below. There are “public notices” on proposed permits each week. These notices are rarely accessible to the public–obscure websites and the tiny print of the classifieds bury them. We believe that the people most affected by a decision should have the most say in that decision. Our goal is to open government to the 21st century and let people know about what companies are proposing to do to the land in their area. So we’ve made an interactive map (thanks to CartoDB) that gives the public information on what’s happening in our backyards. This interactive map shows permit applications open for public comment and contains basic information like watersheds, protected rivers and mitigation banks. It also includes bubbles that show the size of proposed wetlands destruction.- Mouse over a bubble to see who is filling our wetlands.- Click on a bubble to get more information about who to contact.- Follow a link get more information about that project.Currently, this map covers the New Orleans District–wetlands from west of the Pearl River to East of the Sabine, and south of Baton Rouge. Check back about every two weeks to look at new proposals and updates.If you want to learn more, you can read our website here.To read previous GRN comment letters, go to our archive.Together, and only together, can we protect our land.Scott Eustis, M.S. is GRN’s Coastal Wetland Specialist
