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The Review/Bill Decker
This Orion Co. dredge goes to work Wednesday along the Morgan City wharf, continuing unprecedented efforts to keep the Port of Morgan City channel open. The dredge will work in the bay and then move on to other local projects, including Tidewater Point, Stouts Pass and the Calumet Cut, port Executive Director Raymond "Mac" Wade said. Meanwhile, three dredges are at work in the channel closer to the Gulf to maintain the current authorized depth of 20 feet all the way to the sea buoy. "The channel is in the best shape it's ever been," Wade said.

According to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisiana and Mississippi lost population while the rest of the region’s populace increased.
Louisiana was the fifth worst for population loss, with the populace shrinking by 110,709 between April 1, 2020, and July 1. Neighboring Mississippi lost 13,944 residents and was ranked 33rd in terms of population gain or loss during the same period. 
Digging deeper into the data, Louisiana lost 29,692 residents to other states, Mississippi 2,614. In 2023, Louisiana lost 14,274 residents, while Mississippi had a slight gain of 762. 
“”Louisianans are frustrated by the results of decades of bad policy decisions. Too many have just given up and are finding jobs and opportunity elsewhere,” said Daniel Erspamer, the CEO for the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. “That’s why it’s time to bring them home and create a Louisiana where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.  There’s much to be done to reverse this shocking trend, and it will take big, bold reforms to write Louisiana’s comeback story.
“That starts with educational freedom that ensures every child has access to a school that fits, fundamental tax reform and the phase out of the personal income tax, and a major transformation of our social safety nets and workforce programs to give more people better help and the opportunity to find work.”
Both states, along with Maryland (lost 99,579 residents) were the outliers in the U.S. Census’s South Region, which had its population expand by 706,266 in 2023.
The region consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
Florida gained the most new residents with 818,762 between April 2020 and July 1, followed by Texas (656,220), North Carolina (310,189), South Carolina (248,055) and Arizona (218,247).
Among the other top gainers in the South were Tennessee with 207,097 new residents (sixth highest nationally), Georgia (185,752 for seventh place), Alabama (96,538, ninth best), Oklahoma (80,064, 10th best) and Arkansas (57,290, 12th best).
California had the largest population loss at 1.2 million people. It was followed by New York (882,676), Illinois (364,443), New Jersey (153,193) and Massachusetts (149,466).

GUEYDAN — In the late 1980s, a group of 4-H Junior Leaders in Vermilion Parish was itching to do something fun for a summer club activity. 

\ “They did not have the resources to take a trip to, back then, Six Flags in Houston,” recalled Mark Shirley, a coastal specialist based in the parish. “There wasn’t a Blue Bayou Water Park in Baton Rouge yet or things like that.” 
 
Shirley wanted to help the 4-H members in their quest for summer fun, so he arranged to take the club to a camp on Vermilion Bay for a couple of days. He knew he could make the outing into a valuable educational experience, too. 
 That was the first iteration of what would eventually grow into Marsh Maneuvers — a signature program for Louisiana 4-H’ers that offers highly anticipated, weeklong camps on the coast each summer plus a weekend excursion in the
winter. 
 
“That experience of crabbing, fishing, swimming in the bay, looking at alligators, learning the life cycles of these marine organisms was a good experience for that first group of kids,” Shirley said. “From that word of mouth, it got around to other parishes, and they wanted to have that same experience.” 

 Shirley is still working for the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant today, still eagerly leading groups of teenagers into Louisiana’s marshes to teach them about the many creatures that call these habitats home and how people can help protect them. 
 
He recently wrapped up this year’s winter version of the program, which is called Advanced Marsh Maneuvers and was introduced in the 1990s.  

While the summer camp focuses on activities related to the brackish-to-saltwater environments of Louisiana’s coastal marshes, Advanced Marsh Maneuvers is held in a different location, allowing for lessons on freshwater marshes, conservation efforts and waterfowl management. 

Sixteen high school students spent three days in December at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. It’s located south of Gueydan, a Vermilion Parish town that bills itself as the Duck Capital of America. 
 
“White Lake is historically known for being an important wintering ground for all kinds of waterfowl — not just ducks and geese, but shorebirds and other things that come down,” Shirley said. “It’s also the place where whooping cranes were reintroduced in Louisiana.” 
 
Built into the weekend were exercises in teamwork — including the Amazing Marsh Race, a four-hour scavenger hunt. Among other activities, the campers had to identify duck species and build wood duck nesting boxes to obtain clues. And participants were encouraged to practice their outdoor skills, like shooting skeet and throwing a cast net. 
 
Fun, of course, was on the agenda, too. With Christmas approaching, campers returned from their action-packed days outdoors to the conservation area’s historic lodge, where they built gingerbread houses and sang carols together. Shirley joined in with his 12-string guitar. 
 
The group was selected from the 64 youths who participated in the summer camp. 
 
Experiential learning is a key tenet of 4-H — and a tool Shirley embraces to educate young people about a topic close to his heart. 
  
“Just looking at videos on a screen or talking about it or writing a paper in class, you gain some knowledge of Louisiana’s coastal resources,” he said. “But actually spending some time in the coastal environment — during summertime, planting marsh grass and getting wet and muddy doing that, or during the winter camp, canoeing in the marsh at dawn and seeing ducks and geese and whooping cranes fly over — is the experience that really makes a difference to these young people.” 
 
More than 1,900 youths have participated in Marsh Maneuvers events since they began more than three decades ago. One of them was Cherie Roger, who grew up in Assumption Parish and attended the summer camp in the ‘90s, when it was held in Port Fourchon. 
 
“I remember meeting new people and going to a beach,” Roger said. “Although I grew up on the water on Belle River, it was completely different in Fourchon. I saw the difference between the bayou life and the coastal life.” 
 
Today, Roger is a 4-H agent in Terrebonne Parish. She values programs like Marsh Maneuvers that afford 4-H members opportunities to form new friendships, see new places and learn new skills. 
 
When 4-H’ers come home from Marsh Maneuvers, they rave about their time at the camp. 
 
“Their experience is amazing,” Roger said. “They encourage other 4-H’ers to participate because there is so much hands-on learning.” 
 
What is Shirley’s secret to running a successful program for so long? 
 
“Mark doesn’t like downtime,” said Catherine Fox, an extension associate with the Louisiana 4-H Youth Wetlands Program. “His programs are jam-packed full of experiences, and I think the kids really enjoy that.” 
 
“You’re really tired,” observed Marlee Mayeux, a 4-H member who went on the recent Advanced Marsh Maneuvers trip. “And it’s just so much fun.” 
 
Fox has helped Shirley with Marsh Maneuvers for the past few years. 
 
“The kids see him as a mentor,” she said. “They listen to everything he has to say — and he has a quiet voice, so it’s very impressive that they quiet down and listen. They’re engaged. He does a great job of getting kids to see the fun side of natural resources while also talking about a ton of information.” 
 
That information is critical, she said, to the future of a state like Louisiana. Young people need to understand the significance of the coast, which has shaped the state’s culture and economy but faces threats such as erosion. 
 
“They’re getting to apply what they’re learning during the camp to the environment, and they’re becoming informed citizens,” Fox said. “When these issues are up for policy changes or laws in the future, they can make an informed decision on how to vote or how to support or reject something.” 
 
4-H’er Natalie France said participating in both Marsh Maneuvers and the advanced program has made her more aware of environmental issues. 
 
“It’s helped me to see the natural beauty not just in nature, but in everything, and the way everything has a system that’s set up in a particular way for the best outcome,” France said. “It’s also helped me become more self-aware and more conscious of others.” 
 
She and other 4-H members admire Shirley’s extensive expertise and his use of humor — like having the students act out charades — to help make material easy to understand. 
 
“His jokes are awesome,” France said. 
 
“The thing I appreciate most about Mr. Mark and the way that he teaches is how passionate he is about what he teaches,” added 4-H’er Collin Deville. “He is very knowledgeable about everything he tells us. We know if he tells us something, it’s going to be correct.” 
 
Participating in a Marsh Maneuvers camp has been a pivotal moment in the lives of many 4-H’ers. 
 
“A lot of kids that go through this program determine that they want a career in fisheries or something in coastal restoration,” said Hilton Waits, a Vermilion Parish 4-H agent who chaperones Marsh Maneuvers trips.  
 
Shirley finds joy in opening young people’s eyes to the wonders of the marsh. And he takes pride in showing them how they can play a role in preserving these unique environments for generations to come. 
 
“Over their lifetimes, the coast will still be changing,” he said. “We may not be able to restore the coast back to a certain stage. But we will be able to manage and keep using Louisiana’s coastal resources in the future if we’re good stewards. It’s a matter of taking care of the resources, whether it’s alligators or waterfowl or fisheries, and also coming up with the ideas and the techniques to maintain the marshes for as long as possible.” 
 

New Year’s Eve is a popular night to go out on the town. It’s customary to usher in a new year with friends and family members, and such gatherings tend to run late as celebrants anxiously await the stroke of midnight.
The later a New Year’s Eve celebration goes, the more likely revelers may have to battle a little fatigue on the first of January.
With that in mind, celebrants can consider these ways to rebound after a fun New Year’s Eve.
—Make a concerted effort to rehydrate. Though it may be best to avoid or limit alcohol consumption, many people throw such caution to the wind on New Year’s Eve. If you went a little overboard in your New Year’s Eve revelry, make a concerted and consistent effort to rehydrate upon waking up on Jan. 1.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that mild dehydration is one of the contributing factors to a hangover. The NIAAA notes that alcohol suppresses the release of a hormone called vasopressin, which sends signals to the kidneys causing them to retain fluid. When a person is drinking alcohol, they tend to urinate frequently and, as a result, experience an excess loss of fluids. Rehydrating the following day can help the body begin to heal.
—Do not consume more alcohol. Most people have heard of the phrase “hair of the dog that bit you,” which refers to drinking more alcohol after waking up the morning after overindulging. Though the NIAAA notes that this can provide temporary hangover relief, it also may prolong the hangover, the symptoms of which will return once the “hair of the dog” wears off.
—Engage in some light exercise. Various sources advise against sweating out a hangover, an approach that typically calls for individuals to engage in high-intensity, potentially lengthy exercise. Such exercise can exacerbate feelings of dehydration.
A low-intensity workout can help, however. Such workouts, which may include light jogging, can still release endorphins, which can help to improve mood and increase oxygen flow to the brain.
—Take a nap. Alcohol consumption adversely affects sleep quality. According to the Sleep Foundation, though alcohol can have a sedative-like quality that induces sleepiness, excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to poor sleep quality and duration.
In essence, the sleepiness associated with overconsumption of alcohol can quickly wear off, interrupting sleep overnight. A New Year’s Day nap can have a restorative effect.
It’s unwise but not uncommon to overdo it when celebrating on New Year’s Eve. Though it’s always best to avoid overconsumption of alcohol, regardless of the occasion, some simple strategies can help people feel better come New Year’s Day.