[StBernard] The Gulf Restoration Network

[Westley Annis]

Hurricane Katrina taught us a harsh lesson throughout coastal Louisiana: if
we destroy our wetlands, our communities become vulnerable. Katrina showed
that communities with healthy wetlands in front of levees fared much better
in the storm than those without wetlands. Unfortunately, a developer in St
Charles Parish is planning to destroy almost 80 acres (about 70 football
fields) of forested wetlands for a subdivision expansion! Not only would
coastal Louisiana lose a functioning wetland that filters water and provides
important wildlife habitat, the natural storm protections for the
neighboring community would be lost.

This area currently does not have a hurricane protection levee, so the
wetlands are the hurricane protection. Destroying these wetlands would be
outrageous. As you may know, the state of Louisiana has come out with a
draft Comprehensive Management Plan for a Sustainable Coast. This document
drives home the fact that wetlands are necessary for a sustainable
Louisiana, stating that "a healthy landscape is essential to achieving both
a sustainable ecosystem and reliable flood protection" and that "local
governments must enforce appropriate land use and zoning regulations to
ensure that the system, once built, contributes to the long-term
sustainability of the region."

Please send an email
<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=302814734&url_num=2&url=
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/GRN/campaign.jsp?campa
ign_KEY=6994>  to the decision-making agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), and let them know that
they should not be permitting the destruction of wetlands that are necessary
to protect communities from flooding.

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/GRN/campaign.jsp?campa
ign_KEY=6994 

Sincerely, 
Matt Rota
Water Resources Program Director 

The Gulf Restoration Network is a diverse network of local, regional, and
national groups dedicated to protecting and restoring the valuable resources
of the Gulf of Mexico. The GRN has members in the five Gulf states of Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The GRN will not sell or share
your information.

**Visit our website at www.healthygulf.org.** 

 
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