A Circuitous Route: From a Work Project to a Discovery

I was assigned a new project at work. It's a project administered by the Corps of Engineers in southern Louisiana called Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Levee Project. The proposed levee would protect approximately 160,000 people from flood surge. However, right outside of the proposed levee is an island named Isle de Jean Charles.  The controversy is that the levee would cut off Isle de Jean Charles and subject them to flood surge and the levee would block the flow of water north and allow it to sit there, inundating the small island. The Corps plans to buy everyone out and relocate them.  Our Environmental Justice office stated that there may be some issues related to the fair treatment of the people of the island and the Indian tribe that is located on the island, the Biloxi-Chitimacha. Environmental Justice has to do with the fair treatment of minority and low-income populations.  

I had just seen the Oscar nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild and this project sounded eerily similar. The island in the film is appropriately named "The Bathtub". So, I begin searching the inter- webs for Isle de Jean Charles and discover that 2 documentary films are being made about the island's plight; Last Stand on the Island and Can't Stop the Water. Both films mention the Corps project and how it will cut them off from flood protection.  Also, both films interview island residents and the tribal leader.

Isle de Jean Charles

Oil and Gas Pipelines

Water on the only road to and from Isle de Jean Charles

So, you can help save Louisiana's coastal wetlands by clicking here and click here to learn more about wetlands!


The story of Isle de Jean Charles is very interesting as it has dwindled in size first due to the many hundreds of miles of oil and gas pipelines cut into the marsh in the 1950's and then the subsequent erosion and subsidence. The coastal wetlands of Louisiana are in peril and will be lost due to saltwater intrusion, erosion, subsidence and storm surge. At one time, those thousands, maybe millions, of acres of wetlands protected the coast and inland areas of Louisiana from storm surge due to hurricanes, but with wetland destruction, they can no longer do their job. Thus, an historic island full of history and culture may unfortunately be lost.