How (Not) to Prevent the Next Hurricane Katrina
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 04. 4.08
Image courtesy of Gary J. Wood via flickr
One of Louisiana's last remaining natural relics - the majestic cypress forest - is rapidly being whittled away, at the rate of 20,000 acres a year, despite presenting the state's best defense against future hurricanes. In a fascinating piece of environmental investigative journalism for the latest issue of Mother Jones, Michael Behar takes us on a tour of the Atchafalaya Basin, the state's (and nation's) largest swamp, whose rich wildlife and 100-foot tall giant cypress trees are being decimated at an alarming rate; as he elegantly lays out, the cypress' impressive height and extensive root system provide the state's best natural bulwark against hurricanes - much more so than any well-conceived levee system.
In addition, they also serve a crucial function for the ecosystem, preventing invasive plants from overrunning the swamp and providing shelter for a diverse wildlife. Yet despite providing these essential ecosystem services, the cypress are being mercilessly cut down and pulverized to make mulch - ironic, given that the very houses they decorate might end up being swept away by the next major hurricane (at the rate the loggers are going).
Dean Wilson, the man whom Behar befriends on his trip, is one of the few individuals standing between the remaining forests and the private interests bent on scrapping them for mulch. Appointed to be the Waterkeeper Alliance's "Atchafalaya Basinkeeper," he regularly patrols the swamps and organizes tours to cast light on this wholesale destruction. He worries that all the cypress could be gone within the next 20 - 30 years.
The changing swamp ecosystem hasn't exactly helped improve matters either: seeping saltwater has poisoned and killed off many of the trees that once formed a buffer around New Orleans; planting seedlings in all but the driest, most shallow areas has proven to be a losing proposition. Yet even while dead, the cypress can stay in place for up two 2 centuries, thus still representing a strong defense against hurricanes; when combined with the loggers' zeal, the increased salinity of the swamp has all but eliminated the cypress' chances to make a full, let alone partial, recovery.
Enacting a moratorium on the clear-cutting of the cypress may be the state's only hope of salvaging what once was a vibrant ecosystem and - perhaps more importantly for its citizens' longterm interests - a strong buffer. As Behar puts it, however, the odds aren't too good.
Via ::Mother Jones: Louisiana's Mulch Madness (magazine)
See also: ::Katrina and Rita Responsible for Nation's Worst Ever Forestry Disaster, ::Number of Natural Disasters Up Four-Fold over Last Two Decades: Global Warming to Blame?
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All this destruction so that landscaping services can spread mulch around water sucking non-native plants around Mega-mansions and commercial office parks.
LEED should give points for no-mulch landscaping.
This is very sad. Cypress is a valuable woodworking timber if properly manageed, but that requires foresight and investment. Perhaps insurors can inform the Louisiana legislature that erosion of buffer lands means higher premiums. That is, if there are any insurors still writing policies in Louisiana.
Thanks for featuring this, and thanks to Michael Behar for his compelling article. The story of Louisiana's cypress is incredibly sad, and unfortunately, Louisiana is not alone.
Florida has been losing cypress forests to mulch for over a decade, and there was recently a case of illegal logging of cypress in Georgia. All for mulch that ends up in plastic bags in the gardening departments of Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart all over the country.
Dean Wilson, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, is doing an incredible job of defending our best natural storm defenses, and thankfully, he is not alone. A growing group of organization, ranging from the Garden Club of America to the Rainforest Action Network, are speaking out to stop the destruction.
The Save Our Cypress Coalition is pressuring Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart to live up to their environmental commitments and abandon unsustainable cypress mulch. We need the public to join the call!
Please visit www.saveourcypress.org for more information and to take action. You can also watch a hilarious animated video about the situation that is narrated by Harry Shearer from The Simpsons.
Thanks for helping to save our cypress!
Dan Favre
Campaign Organizer
Gulf Restoration Network
www.healthygulf.org