The Mississippi River Delta: Is There Hope?
With the release of the 2012 Draft Master Plan for Coastal Restoration and Hurricane Risk Reduction, it is time to assess our prospects for restoring a functional delta and insuring the very future existence of our communities. Nothing less is at stake.
David Muth is a New Orleans native who has spent a lifetime in the Mississippi River delta and on the Louisiana coast, studying its geology, ecology, plants, wildlife, history and culture. He took his degree in history at University of New Orleans and became professionally interested in the connection between culture and environment in the context of the delta. He worked for 30 years with the National Park Service at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in south Louisiana, eventually managing its natural and cultural resource programs. At the beginning of 2011, he joined the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign as the Louisiana State Director of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
The campaign is a joint effort among NWF, Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audubon Society, along with local partners like the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and the Nature Conservancy of Louisiana, to bring about comprehensive, systemic restoration of the Mississippi River delta. They are working to find and seek consensus and national support for an ecologically sound and sustainable program to restore the flow of the Mississippi River to its dying delta, and to do so in a way that preserves the communities and culture of coastal Louisiana to the maximum extent possible.
Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main gate and behind statue of Audubon. Parking plentiful and safe. Call (504) 307-0187 with any questions. The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30 P.M. Program 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
