Effects of BP Oil Spill still linger

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The BP report made the company’s case that the Gulf of Mexico is almost back to the condition it was in before the 2010 oil release. Coastal and environmental groups as well as the Natural Resource Defense Council said the BP report was premature and misleading.

“They think they can convince the rest of the country that nothing happened,” Renfro said.

Another stop on Tuesday’s tour, Cat Island in Barataria Bay, showed the heavy toll of erosion that Muth said has been hastened by oil exposure.

What was once two islands with one name, Cat Island is quickly becoming a name only as only a small ridge of shells remains of what was just a few years ago an island of mangrove thickets that provided nesting habitat for brown pelicans. Now, the mangroves are just bare twigs sticking out of a mudflat surrounding the shell ridge. The birds have moved on.

“As we lose habitat, we lose birds,” Renfro said.

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