Gazing out at its usually calm waters, one would never know that Pensacola Bay is missing 90% of its seagrass the Bay’s single most important aquatic habitat. That’s why it’s vitally important that we protect the remaining seagrass. A recent Federal decision to rebuff plans to dredge some of the remaining seagrass for a deeper […]
Protecting Florida’s seagrass Read More »
The Yazoo Backwater Pumps project is a 77 year old Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) project that would have resulted in one of the world’s largest water pumping plants in one of the most sparsely populated regions of the country. The pumps would, at last estimate, cost taxpayers $220 million with at least $1 million
Yazoo Pumps – Is this zombie project finally dead? Read More »
Mississippi’s elected leadership may be getting a better understanding about how river flow and oysters are related. It would seem that a coastal state such as ours would protect the rivers that feed fresh water to the coast. River flow helps keep moderate salinities in marshes and coastal bays- the nursery areas – that make
Oysters, Rivers and State Government Contradictions Part II Read More »
The rivers of Louisiana are intricately connected to our unique and valuable wetland forests. You may recognize some of these iconic southern riverine landscapes, such as cypress-tupelo dominated swamps. Wetland forests provide effective shelter from floods and storms, a filter for safe clean water, and are an integral part of the Gulf’s cultural and natural
Restore our Rivers – Mining Opportunities Read More »
A coalition of Gulf Coast chefs and restaurant owners is calling on lawmakers to vote against a federal fisheries bill that the House is currently considering.HR 200 (or “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act”), is the reauthorization bill for the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the law passed in 1976 that governs federal
Gulf chefs unite to condemn potential rollback of federal fisheries law Read More »
Every year, the state of Louisiana releases a new Annual Coastal Plan the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan – the state’s 50 year, $50+ billion dollar plan to restore the coast and protect communities. The overall Master Plan is a big picture strategic document, which the state updates every 5 years. The Annual Coastal Plan gets
Louisiana Hosting Meetings on Annual Coastal Plan Read More »
Last week the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources met to mark up the bills reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal law that manages our nation’s fisheries. “Marking up” is the process in which members of the committee debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation before it goes to the House floor to be debated and
Louisiana’s Garret Graves introduces red herring to federal fish bill Read More »
In Mobile, Alabama the trustees from the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA Trustees) held a public meeting on Thursday November 30th so that the six working groups (Trustee Implementation Groups or TIGs) spending this source of BP penalty money could report on the past year’s activities and flag important goals for 2018. Each Gulf state
Mobile Alabama NRDA Restoration Meeting Nov. 30th Read More »
Mississippi’s second annual Restoration Summit convened on Tuesday Nov. 14th so the state could announce a new group of ecological and economic restoration projects for 2018, funded by the BP oil spill settlement and penalties. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is the lead agency managing the allocation of the funds and had the responsibility
Miss. Restoration Summit 2017 Biloxi Read More »
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met the first week of October in Biloxi, MS, to consider Coral Amendment 9, which is focused on protecting 15 Habitat Areas of Particular Concern for sensitive deep sea corals and protecting them under existing federal law. While we were pleased to see the Council move forward on
Gulf Council votes on deep sea coral protections Read More »