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Welcome to the dog days of summer. The bellowing cicadas are starting to settle, and native plants are thriving due to last month’s afternoon storms (my favorite part about summers here). Summers down here get a bad rap for being too hot and humid, but this delicate combo of heat and humidity creates the conditions for life down here to thrive. I love learning about indigenous cultures who relied on the monsoon season for a bountiful harvest come fall. Fun fact: did you know it’s peak blue crab spawning season? To answer the question in the subject, female blue crabs have ‘red painted fingernails’ on the tips of their claws, which is how they’re easily differentiated from males. Check out below for a Crab Chops recipe from local chef Marcelle Bienvenue.   

Last week, I got to see some of these blue crabs float through the Gulf on a Harbor Police boat at Port Fourchon. Our staff got to witness the delicate intersection of ecosystem and industry while visiting the port on a field trip. At Restore the Mississippi River Delta, our mission is to advance an equitable, safer, and flourishing coast for Louisiana’s communities, ecosystems, and economy, and this port is one place where you can see all these entities intermingle to provide energy sources not only to our state but to the nation and beyond. Port Fourchon operates under the principle of ‘holistic resiliency,’ meaning they recognize the ecosystem benefits that protect their property and design the Port to maximize these benefits. You can read about the 100-acre Coastal Wetland Park they’ve dedicated on the property and more of the port’s restoration efforts here. Special thanks to the Port Director, Chett Chiasson, for showing us around and capturing this selfie for us! 

Read on to learn more about important research going on about the entire Mississippi River, community water quality testing in Orleans Parish, Disability Awareness Month and more! 

Until next month,  

Emma Butler
Sr. Campaign Coordinator
National Wildlife Federation
The Mid Barataria Sediment Diversion groundbreaking August 2023

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion:
Fact vs. Fiction   

It's been one year since we celebrated the groundbreaking of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the most important coastal restoration project in Louisiana and the largest ecosystem restoration project in US history. It is designed to reconnect the river to its wetlands, allowing it to deposit sediment in the Barataria Basin and rebuild the land that has been lost there. This project will also maintain existing marshes and marsh creation projects being built in the area. 

While Louisianans overwhelmingly support diversions, there has been a lot of misinformation spread about the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. We put together a list of common myths about this project and the facts that refute them - you can read them here. 

Our website also houses a wealth of information on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion here, including project updates, ecological highlights, and a report showing the positive economic impacts of constructing this diversion. 

Want to get involved in our work? Add your name here in support of our state's science-based coastal program, or email [email protected] to learn about more ways you can take action to protect and restore Louisiana's coast. 

Lower MS River Comp Study Scoping Report

Earlier this year, the Army Corps hosted a series of public scoping meetings to collect community input on the Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study. LMR Comp is a five-year, $25 million mega study aimed at assessing various strategies for the effective long-term management of the Mississippi River, spanning from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico. This study will comprehensively evaluate all operational and management aspects of the Lower Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) system, focusing on adaptability, resilience, and sustainability—something MRD and many of our partner organizations are keenly interested in. The scoping report provides a summary of comments received during the scoping period, organized by topics and themes, along with the original comments included in an appendix.

Residential Water Quality Testing in New Orleans

Learn more about The Water Collaborative’s Lead Awareness Program here.

Coastal Careers

Pontchartrain Conservancy is hiring a Community Science and Environmental Education Manager to manage its environmental education programs, projects, and staff. You can view the position description here. To apply, send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] by August 30. 

ICYMI: Disability Pride Month

July was Disability Pride Month, as it commemorates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26th, 1990. The ADA prohibits discrimination against disabled people in everyday life, which paved the way for inclusive building and municipal design as well as legal protections in employment, housing, and education. The accommodations and protections outlined in the ADA benefit all Americans, not just those with disabilities. The intersection of disability and climate change is important to recognize, as adverse climate impacts will disproportionately affect disabled individuals while also causing more disabling conditions. This is why it is the responsibility of those without disabilities to recognize the privilege they have moving through the world and to support the advocacy efforts of disabled activists. In celebration of this month-long event, PBS has curated an excellent collection of documentaries highlighting the history and leaders of the disability rights movement.  

To learn more about the ADA, check out these links: 

To learn more about Disability Pride, check out these links: 

Recipe Spotlight: Crab Chops

Marcelle Bienvenu, Chef, Food Writer and former Instructor at the Nicholls State University Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, shares her family recipe for Crab Chops, a playful take on the traditional crab cake. August is peak crab season in Louisiana, so be sure to take advantage of the bounty our coast has to offer by enjoying this delicious recipe!