Photo Journal

Louisiana’s 15,000 mile coastline is the longest of any state. Roughly 1/3 of America’s entire coastal marshes are within Louisiana, but 90% of the nation’s wetlands loss occurs here. Louisiana’s wetlands provide critical storm buffers for coastal residents, but they’re rapidly disappearing. In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast drowning 217 square miles of wetlands. Nearly 250,000 homes are destroyed by the storms. More than a million Louisianans are displaced in their wake. Though confronted with daunting obstacles, the majority of residents resolve to rebuild. Determined to salvage their communities and way of life. In 2008, hurricanes devastate the Gulf Coast again. Gustav and Ike flood many communities still struggling to rebuild. Storm surge from Hurricane Ike in Erath, Louisiana. Coastal restoration plans mount after the storms. Thanks to a concerted effort by the state and its federal partners, land loss rates in 2009 are their lowest in 50 years. Newly created marsh. But on April 20th, 2010 a new disaster strikes. One month after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil reaches the shores of Elmer's Island in Grand Isle. Wayne Keller, the Executive Director of the Grand Isle Port Commission, updates BTNEP’s Kerry St. Pé on the situation. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal arrives to survey the area. Governor Jindal addresses the media. LPB Videographer Rex Q. Fortenberry films Kerry St. Pé and Governor Jindal discussing the damage. Workers and volunteers amass along the Gulf to clean-up the oil. Oil clean-up on Elmer's Island. After nearly three months and an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil, the BP well is capped on July 15th. But Louisiana's coastal crisis continues... ...and more storms are on the horizon.
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