re: Downshift's swamp navigation and sneaking aorund thread (TL;DR)

quote:

---

I'm actually torn on if I want the ducks back or not.

---

quote:

---

wickowick, did they ever make those cuts in the diversion canal levees that had been talked about, to let water drain into the swamp some, or is that also part of the diversion project?

---

quote:

---

“Much of the remaining swamp is in a severe state of deterioration,” Shaffer said.

He explained that the establishment of levees over the last century along the Mississippi River to eliminate natural flooding removed a once reliable source of fresh water, sediments and nutrients that swamps require for healthy growth.

“This has enabled salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to make further inland intrusions,” he said. “Combined with rising sea levels and the construction of massive canals, such as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), the intensity and frequency of saltwater intrusions has only grown worse. Consequently, most of the Maurepas Swamp appears to be in transition to marsh and open water.”

---

quote:

---

“It is likely that the influences of freshening would be felt in wetlands as distant as Lake Pontchartrain,” he said. “Even the smallest proposed diversion would replace all of the water in Lake Maurepas twice each year and it can only exit to Lake Pontchartrain through Pass Manchac and North Pass.”

Mississippi River reintroductions have been considered at Violet, Bonnet Carre, La Branch and two in the Maurepas Swamp, Shaffer said

---

quote:

---

the north end of the WMA gets little hunting pressure

---