Elmer's Island Permanently Closed to Vehicular Access

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Anglers and beachcombers have been prohibited from driving on Elmer's this summer while the state has conducted a large restoration project on the beachfront. Anglers groused about the timing because it prevented them from fishing during the productive summer season, but they accepted it, assuming vehicular access would resume after the project's completion.

According to Julia Lightner with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, however, that won't happen.

In an email exchange with angler Jack Foster, Lightner said Elmer's will be closed completely from Aug. 10-22 due to ongoing construction at the end of the access road to the beach. After Aug. 22, walking to the western end of the beach would be allowed to anglers who park their cars in the designated parking area.

And they'd better get used to it.

"When the project is completed, sometime in October, the newly restored beach will be pedestrian-access only," Lightner wrote.

Lightner blamed the change on R.S. 38:213, which prohibits riding or hauling on levees.

"There will be no driving on the newly constructed restoration project, which is basically the beachfront," she wrote. "There will be a parking area on the beach."

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