Number: 1982-10
WHEREAS, the coastal wetlands of the state of Louisiana are a nationally important resource, they support 25 percent of the total U.S. commercial fisheries harvest, they provide wintering habitat for more than two-thirds of the migratory waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway, and they support a commercial fur harvest worth more than $16 million per year; and
WHEREAS, due to a variety of causes, the coastal wetlands of Louisiana are disappearing at an alarming rate of over 45 square miles per year; and
WHEREAS, the combined influence of man-made levees on the Mississippi River which prevent the influx of fresh water, silt, and nutrients into the coastal wetland system, and the dredging of canals primarily for navigation and the development of oil and gas resources throughout the Louisiana coastal zone greatly accelerate saltwater intrusion and wetland deterioration; and
WHEREAS, diversion of freshwater from the Mississippi River into the adjacent wetlands as proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Louisiana would cause the growth of sub-deltas, combat saltwater intrusion and create conditions more favorable to the growth of fresh and intermediate marshes; and
WHEREAS, non-structural stabilization of offshore islands will help maintain the salinity balance of nearshore estuaries without disrupting the natural littoral drift from one island to the next; and
WHEREAS, the the state of Louisiana has passed legislation and appropriated funds for a program to reduce the loss of coastal wetlands and control saltwater intrusion;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 18-21, 1982, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, strongly supports the diversion of freshwater from the Mississippi River to help maintain and nourish coastal marshes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NWF strongly supports non-structural alternatives for stabilizing offshore barrier islands to retard saltwater intrusion. Structural alternatives for island and wetland protection are acceptable where clearly demonstrated threats to wildlife and fish habitat exists;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these land loss abatement measures be financed through equitable payments from those who have benefited and will benefit from the physical alterations which precipitated the wetland loss problem. Specifically, the National Wildlife Federation supports the financing of freshwater diversions with navigation user fees on the Mississippi River, and with appropriate federal cost-sharing as an integral mitigation feature of the ongoing Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, and the financing of state wetlands loss abatement measures with state revenues derived from oil and gas production as well as other available state revenue sources.