Post by tigergirl on Jun 16, 2007 10:57:11 GMT -6
From WWLTV.com:
11:09 AM CDT on Saturday, June 16, 2007
Nikki Buskey / Associated Press
HOUMA -- Eroding strips of barrier islands are the first things many songbirds see after an arduous 600-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico.
But Louisiana's changing coastline is making life harder for these long-traveled visitors to catch a break. As barrier islands erode away, and wetlands convert into tree-killing salt marshes, more and more of these important coastal forests are disappearing.
"Nobody has ever really tried to document the effect of that, but those oak ridges that died, that's definitely a loss of habitat for many species of birds," said Tommy Michot, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Wetlands Center in Lafayette.
Birds cross Louisiana during their long spring migration from winter habitats in the Yucatan back northward into America.
But after a long flight across the Gulf, often against the wind, the birds are exhausted by the time they see the first strips of Louisiana. And healthy forests can mean the difference between life and death.
These islands, and the wetlands of Terrebonne and Lafourche parish, were once rich with hackberry and mulberry forests and oak ridges.
"They'll land in these trees, and they'll be starving and feed on anything they can," Michot said.
Many things contribute to the death of coastal forests, but the main factors are human development, storms and saltwater intrusion, Michot said.
"There is no tree native to Louisiana that will grow in absolute salt water," said David Muth, vice president of the New Orleans Audubon Society.
Trees like live oak and hackberry are adapted to more salty conditions, and to occasional saltwater floods, but floods that come over levee walls, trapping storm water for days, wipe these forests out.
"It kills everything in sight," Muth said.
The USGS Center in Lafayette studied change in migration patterns of birds after storms wiped out areas of forest.
The group used radar imagery to map and determine the distribution of birds in Louisiana.
Once a popular landing spot for hungry songbirds, Hurricane Katrina stripped and snapped woods in the Pearl River Basin near Slidell, and the effect on migratory-bird populations was immediate, Michot said.
"These woods were very important," Michot said. "There were always big waves of birds entering and leaving the area."
But after Katrina, the radar showed a complete relocation, clearing the area for hundreds of miles. Many birds probably died of hunger or exhaustion without a suitable place to land.
"There was an instantaneous shifting of habitat," Michot said.
Muth said he's seen a change under way, though. Many officials involved in the restoration of coastal Louisiana have begun to understand the importance of restoring not only marsh grasses but the bottomland hardwood, cypress and hackberry forests that once dotted the area.
"Coastal restoration used to focus almost extensively on marsh," he said. "And people doing the work are becoming more and more aware that you need a complete restoration to be effective."
Groups like the Nature Conservancy on Grand Isle are also taking a stand against disappearing habitats. The group has bought 96 acres of forest on the island to protect it against development. The group also worked to replant mulberry forests that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina.
"Our mission is to protect and restore as much of the maritime forest as we can by working with the government and the locals," said Jean Landry, program director for the Grand Isle Nature Conservancy site.
One thing residents can do to help the effort is to plant native trees in their yards or business, particularly fruit-bearing trees, to give passing birds a place to eat and rest and to enhance the local habitat, Landry said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
11:09 AM CDT on Saturday, June 16, 2007
Nikki Buskey / Associated Press
HOUMA -- Eroding strips of barrier islands are the first things many songbirds see after an arduous 600-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico.
But Louisiana's changing coastline is making life harder for these long-traveled visitors to catch a break. As barrier islands erode away, and wetlands convert into tree-killing salt marshes, more and more of these important coastal forests are disappearing.
"Nobody has ever really tried to document the effect of that, but those oak ridges that died, that's definitely a loss of habitat for many species of birds," said Tommy Michot, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Wetlands Center in Lafayette.
Birds cross Louisiana during their long spring migration from winter habitats in the Yucatan back northward into America.
But after a long flight across the Gulf, often against the wind, the birds are exhausted by the time they see the first strips of Louisiana. And healthy forests can mean the difference between life and death.
These islands, and the wetlands of Terrebonne and Lafourche parish, were once rich with hackberry and mulberry forests and oak ridges.
"They'll land in these trees, and they'll be starving and feed on anything they can," Michot said.
Many things contribute to the death of coastal forests, but the main factors are human development, storms and saltwater intrusion, Michot said.
"There is no tree native to Louisiana that will grow in absolute salt water," said David Muth, vice president of the New Orleans Audubon Society.
Trees like live oak and hackberry are adapted to more salty conditions, and to occasional saltwater floods, but floods that come over levee walls, trapping storm water for days, wipe these forests out.
"It kills everything in sight," Muth said.
The USGS Center in Lafayette studied change in migration patterns of birds after storms wiped out areas of forest.
The group used radar imagery to map and determine the distribution of birds in Louisiana.
Once a popular landing spot for hungry songbirds, Hurricane Katrina stripped and snapped woods in the Pearl River Basin near Slidell, and the effect on migratory-bird populations was immediate, Michot said.
"These woods were very important," Michot said. "There were always big waves of birds entering and leaving the area."
But after Katrina, the radar showed a complete relocation, clearing the area for hundreds of miles. Many birds probably died of hunger or exhaustion without a suitable place to land.
"There was an instantaneous shifting of habitat," Michot said.
Muth said he's seen a change under way, though. Many officials involved in the restoration of coastal Louisiana have begun to understand the importance of restoring not only marsh grasses but the bottomland hardwood, cypress and hackberry forests that once dotted the area.
"Coastal restoration used to focus almost extensively on marsh," he said. "And people doing the work are becoming more and more aware that you need a complete restoration to be effective."
Groups like the Nature Conservancy on Grand Isle are also taking a stand against disappearing habitats. The group has bought 96 acres of forest on the island to protect it against development. The group also worked to replant mulberry forests that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina.
"Our mission is to protect and restore as much of the maritime forest as we can by working with the government and the locals," said Jean Landry, program director for the Grand Isle Nature Conservancy site.
One thing residents can do to help the effort is to plant native trees in their yards or business, particularly fruit-bearing trees, to give passing birds a place to eat and rest and to enhance the local habitat, Landry said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)