Mon, Oct 21, 2019
Albertine Kimble, rugged and quirky, is the best duck hunter in the parish. As the former coastal plan manager for the Parish she knows Plaquimines wetlands better than almost anyone. Through her eyes, this episode explains how human engineering prevented the Mississippi River from flowing its natural course, and how it deprives the wetlands of vital nutrients and sediment. As Albertine take us to her favorite hunting spots, she shares with us how the dying marsh is disrupting the Mississippi Flyway, something she has witnessed through the intimate familiarity she has with over 40 years of avid hunting.
Mon, Oct 21, 2019
Dr. Alex Kolker is the face of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, better known as LUMCON, one of the premier research institutes working to understand the mechanisms and impacts of coastal land loss. He has spent the last decade studying subsidence and sea level rise in effort to understand whether or not restoration will be sufficient to stem the loss of land. In this episode, Dr. Kolker will walk us through the current restoration projects and whether or not they are having the desired impact, he will show us how New Orleans is sinking and the state has a plan to save the coast.
Mon, Oct 21, 2019
Ben Depp, a landscape photographer, has set out to chronicle the wetlands in a series of high-art aerial photographs that he captures with the help of his 21-foot paragliding wing and 200HP motor driven propeller that he straps to his back. From above he has become acutely aware of the vast network of pipeline canals which are reportedly responsible for up to 30% of the land loss. In this episode we take a trip to the barrier islands where Ben flies his glider and observes the recent restoration that the state has put into rebuilding the land in this area.
Mon, Oct 21, 2019
The Louisiana wetlands are the bread basket of the Untied States as far as shellfish is concerned. But the rich bounty that the delta produced for as long as anyone can remember is seemingly doomed whether we act or not. As saltwater pushes in from the ocean, the ecosystem is threatened by high salinity, but the proposed restoration solutions are equally dreaded by the fisherman who fear too much freshwater will also destroy the habitat as they know it. Gleason, both a shrimper and oysterman, feels like there's no good answer. He is, however, preparing to adapt to a changing future. He is optimistic.
Mon, Oct 21, 2019
Kasha Clay is worried for her tribe. They have a hard enough time maintaining Houma tribal culture as is. Now with even more migration she sees the likelihood of it all falling away. Committed to seeing her tribes culture survive, she started working with the National Academy of Sciences to record oral histories of her community. In this episode, we meet a few of the tribe's elders as they share memories of their coastal communities, some of which are no longer there due to land loss. Kasha has a message for greater Louisiana - you too are at risk for losing culture and that protection of the land is vital to maintain a much loved way of life.