St. Mary people like what they hear about possible estuary reserve

Staff Report

More than 200 St. Mary people turned out Tuesday night to learn about and support a parish site for a National Estuarine Research Reserve, a designation with potential benefits for science, education and the local economy.

The committee charged with nominating a Louisiana site for what is known as a NERR, pronounced "near," held a town hall meeting Tuesday night at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium and drew about 130 people. More than 80 watched the meeting by Zoom.

They heard local people talk about the potential benefits: science education for K-12 students, some of whom might otherwise not have the chance to interact with nature; the potential for tourism; research that could help preserve Louisiana's vanishing coastline; and even a closer connection between the parish and young people who might otherwise leave in search of greater opportunity.

"It reminds me of all the things this community has to offer," Morgan City Court Judge Kim Stansbury said.

And Berwick Town Councilman Lud Henry said a NERR could help shape decisions about where people want to live.

"St. Mary Parish is where you want to be," Parish President David Hanagriff told the committee.

The parish -- actually, the Atchafalaya River Basin -- is one of three south Louisiana sites under consideration for the NERR site.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oversees a network of 30 such reserves in estuary zones, roughly defined as an area where a river meets the sea. But the reserves are operated by the states, which pick up 30% of the cost of operations. NOAA pays the other 70%.

The federal operations budget for the NERRs was about $28.5 million in fiscal 2021, with another $4.5 million for acquisition, procurement and construction.

The purpose of the NERRS is to gather and spread information about the importance of estuarine ecosystems. The four goals, said selection team leader Brian Roberts of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, are stewardship, research, education and training.

NOAA will use the sites to set up monitoring stations for weather, water quality and other data. College students would use the NERR for training in their fields and to contribute to the body of research.

Organizers said 3.3 million people live within 100 miles of the Basin, and 2.2 million people live within 75 miles. And that means opportunities for tourism.

Kristin Ransom of NOAA's Office of Coastal Management pointed to the Mission Aransas NERR in Texas, where a nearby cattle ranch set up blinds for use in bird-watching. The area has a colony of endangered whooping cranes.

The blinds became a more lucrative enterprise than the cattle ranch, Ransom said.

She pointed to a slogan for the program: locally relevant, nationally significant.

"Cajun Coast would love to be part of this amazing program," said Carrie Stansbury, executive director for the Cajun Coast

Convention & Tourism Commission. She offered the use of the Cajun Coast visitor center for use in educational efforts.

About 456,000 students attend 860 schools near the Basin, Roberts said.

Morgan City High teacher Leslie Smith said she teaches students from many cultural backgrounds with few opportunities to bring them together.

"We need this here," Smith said. "We need something like this."

The St. Mary Excel citizens group has been a major supporter of a NERR site in the parish, and President Catherine Holcomb confirmed the group's support Tuesday night.

Morgan City Councilman Lou Tamporello and St. Mary School Board member Tammie Moore also spoke in favor. Henry read a letter of support from the Berwick Town Council.

The organizers repeated the answer to a frequently asked question: Will the NERR bring new federal regulations?

They said that because the site will be operated by the state, the existing land use rules at whatever site is selected will continue to be in force.

"You'll still be able to fish there," Roberts said. "Nothing is going to change."

Existing NERRs range in size from 573 acres for an Ohio reserve to 366,000 acres for one in Alaska.

One of the selling points for an Atchafalaya Basin reserve is that 65% of the Basin is already owned by the state.

Gov. John Bel Edwards notified NOAA about his intention to seek a NERR site for Louisiana in July 2019.

Six potential sites across south Louisiana were identified. The Atchafalaya is among the final three. The others are Barataria and Pontchartrain.

Organizers said they hope to have a recommendation ready for the governor this spring. The governor will send his recommendation to NOAA, followed by an environmental impact study, draft and final agreements between the state and NOAA, and the final decision. That process is expected to take additional months.