We humans have spent a lot of time and money managing our big, wonderful Mississippi River. Unfortunately, some of our managing and meddling has led to more problems and projects. In this world of blown levees, rising floods and shrinking budgets, it feels good to see two birds killed with one stone. Or, several nutria killed with a shotgun to protect local wetlands.
Nutria are about as invasive as species get. These large South American rodents were first recorded in our Gulf region in the 1930s, right around when the US Army Corps started zealously building levees. These little guys are surprisingly destructive, wasting about 80% of the vegetation they uproot in order to feast on stalks. The vegetation they waste is in wetlands, a type of habitat that, because of our propensity as humans for levee-building, needs to be protected.
Invasive species affect habitats dramatically. As native species evolve, they evolve with their habitats so all the plants and animals work together, moving each other like cogs in a machine. Adding a species that hasn’t evolved with everything else is like throwing in a wrench: the system just breaks.
And so, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate some wonderful humans that have taken arms against nutria and for our environment. Seventeen-year-old Aaron Guidry of Sassafras Louisiana, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to restoration in Louisiana, recently kicked off the first Sassafras Nutria Rodeo in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, to engage his community around the issue of invasive species and Gulf restoration. While the main event was hunting nutria – complete with prizes for the biggest catch – they also fished for Asian carp and had a celebration of Creole food and culture. This group of enterprising young people, all juniors and seniors in high school, have banded together to educate and engage their community to take action and protect the environment.
In this season of gratitude, let’s celebrate the actions of these young people in Louisiana by taking small actions ourselves. Follow this link to urge your Congressperson to support the RESTORE Act. The RESTORE Act would require the majority of damages paid by BP from last year’s oil spill to go directly toward Gulf restoration. With your help—and the help of our friends at Sassafras Louisiana, environmental and economic restoration can begin in the Gulf States that so desperately need it. Take action today.
photo by Matthew Hinton, The Times-Picayune