Councilmember Clarkson joins (from left) Beth Galante of Global Green, Pam Daschille of the Lower Ninth Ward, St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro, and District "E" Councilmember Cynthia Willard-Lewis at the wetlands restoration rally.
New Orleans, LA – June 1, 2009 – Council Vice President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson will join community leaders in the Lower Ninth Ward today in calling for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore the wetlands surrounding the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO).
The MRGO Rally will take place today at 12 p.m. at the Bayou Bienvenue Cypress Triangle Platform at the intersection of Caffin Ave. and Florida Ave. in the Lower Ninth Ward (click here for a map).
Completed in 1965, MRGO is a 76-mile, man-made channel connecting New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico. Although the channel provides a navigational shortcut, it has also allowed saltwater to intrude upon surrounding wetlands, which thrive on freshwater. Over time, this process has led to the destruction of tens of thousands of acres of wetlands.
“We must restore those wetlands,” Clarkson said. “This is a vital component of ensuring New Orleans is a viable, sustainable place to live.”
She continued, “Levees, vital as they are, are not enough. We need to restore the coastal wetlands that have for so long helped our region absorb the impact of major hurricanes.”
MRGO is under congressional mandate to be closed, and the Corps began constructing the closure earlier this year. The Corps must also devise projects to restore the surrounding wetlands.
“We must join together as a regional community and ask the Corps to do everything within its power to quickly implement projects that will restore the natural hurricane barriers we so desperately need,” Clarkson said.
Possibilities for wetland restoration surrounding MRGO include land diversions that would reintroduce freshwater and marsh-building sediment into the wetlands, marsh creation, and barrier island building.
