Final Proposal

It is fairly evident to most that coastal wetlands, specifically in Louisiana, are diminishing, but does this have any practical importance to the public, especially the inhabitants of this area, and nature? I plan to first provide scientific background of wetland loss and devastation from sources such as USGS National Wetlands Research Center. I then plan to back up the scientific data collected throughout the years with personal data and a canoe excursion. Therefore, this project is not meant to be a scientific presentation showing the degree to which coastal Louisiana has disappeared, but is meant to use the personal anecdotes, testimonies, interviews, and reflections of various individuals to show why others should care about the findings of this scientific data. In other words, I will show specifically how the losses of coastal LA wetlands are affecting the public, instead of merely providing an overload of scientific data. My study will focus on three main components: (1) audio or written interviews with three individuals (a) Max Latham—member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as a local of Plaquemines Parish, (b) Clark Fontaine—a local shrimper as well as construction manager, and (c) Bryan Ragas—manager of Swift Energy, a major oil and natural gas production company located in Plaquemines Parish, as well as a 50 year local, (2) personal testimonies, anecdotes, photographs, and reflections collected from my father and other family members, and (3) a canoe trip exploring the wetlands of Plaquemines Parish used to make reflections on why the wetlands are important to me. My goal is not to show the changes of the entire LA wetland coast over a 100 year period, but instead to show the changes noticed by these various individuals over a fairly short period and how these changes have affected their livelihood, hobbies, cultural traditions, etc. With all of this data, I expect to show the large degree of environmental degradation in these areas, due to both anthropogenic and biogenic causes, and the great aesthetic and economic loss to the public that results. This way people may see the importance and value the wetlands have on many people, and why we as a nation should do something about it. My method for communicating my results and conclusions will be to create a website that shows the various information I will collect throughout the course of my final project. Anyone will be able to go into the website and read through the testimonies and anecdotes, hear the interviews, and view the photographs and videos taken.