Former BTNEP director discusses how coastal landloss is a threat to southern Louisiana

Former director of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Kerry St. Pé, presented a lecture in honor of the Nicholls 70th Anniversary in the Mary and Al Danos Theater on Wednesday night.

The lecture informed attendees about the history of the Nicholls estuary program and issues concerning restoration.

St. Pé opened the lecture with his history as a former Nicholls student. In 1968, he graduated with a degree in marine biology.

During his lecture, St. Pé acknowledged said that Nicholls is the closest to the coast, but the major problem is that it’s getting closer due to the loss of Louisiana’s coastline.

“The Barataria-Terrebonne habitat is disappearing faster than any other area in the world,” St. Pé said. “The wetlands in this habitat provide a national barrier against the storm surge created by hurricanes and the disappearance of them affect flooding in coastal areas.”

St. Pé said the original plan for the creation of the estuary program was centered in Baton Rouge but changed in the end due to the center of the estuary being in Thibodaux.

Nicholls State University offered to house the program and it has been on campus since 1987.

Catastrophic flooding from the Mississippi River in 1927 prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to build levees to prevent the flooding of houses and land; the problem with this is it stopped sediment deposits from forming during flooding—greatly affecting the coastline from building the land back up.

“Since 1850, the suspended sediment land in the Mississippi River has declined by 50 to 80 percent,” St. Pé said. “Many people suggested shipped sediment from regions that have an abundance of it, but the problem with this is the enormous cost it would take to make this a reality.”

The predicted future loss of the coastline in the next 50 years could mean a loss of culture in the areas that surround the estuary. The rapid erosion could eventually force people out of their homes or pushed further back from the coast.

In order to celebrate the rich history of the communities surrounding the estuary, the Paddle Down Bayou Lafourche is hosted every year to educate people on the environment.

Also, in order to keep the environment clean, a day of service known as Bayou Lafourche Cleanup is held.

“The first year of the cleanup we picked up 11 tons of trash, but it rose to 18 tons in another clean up,” St. Pé said. “You would think the amount of garbage picked up in the bayou would go down each time, but a lack of respect for the environment has caused this to happen.”

Bayou Lafourche Cleanup is a day where Nicholls students and faculty as well as surrounding communities and high schools volunteer to clean the bayou and restore the local estuary system.

“A data analysis was taken that showed items ranging from bowling balls to a car were pulled out of the bayou during a cleanup,” St. Pé said. “A lack of understanding of these effects on the environment contribute to the problem of littering in the bayou.”

The solution to the coastal restoration crisis lies in the addition of sediments. The addition of sediments can help rebuild the barrier islands, marshes and ridges that were lost over the last 75 years. The coast can be restored through the proposed idea of sediments being transported through pipelines with minimal amounts of water to gain public support.

Although this dream of coastal restoration has not yet been made a reality, education and support on the matter gives citizens in communities around the estuary system and St. Pé hope for a future with increased coastlines and a cleaner environment. The idea is to preserve the natural history of what many southerners in Louisiana know as home.