Restore
Grande Isle

The Pelican Tide chronicles a portion of the 87 days that oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil platform gushed into the Gulf of Mexico and covered Grand Isle, Louisiana, along with seven Gulf Coast States.

Grand Isle is a real place with real people with a rich history and a unique way of life. Grand Isle needs our help to survive.

In 2021 as I was finishing The Pelican Tide, Hurricane Ida hit the island. The storm damaged each of the island’s 2500 structures and destroyed 700 of them. The island lost power, water, and all services.

Replanting to restore Grande Isle

When I saw that a Restore Grand Isle project had started, I reached out and met Ronnie Sampey, director of the program. The islanders are replanting native plants, including land-preserving oak trees. They are helping the community to rebuild and encouraging people to return.

The challenge now, as Ronnie tells me, is fighting through government red tape for assistance. Residents are facing an uphill battle for permitting and building code requirements, and then they are faced with not surprisingly sky-high insurance costs. “We need our people to return to the island.”

After Effects of the Oil Spill and Current Climate Emergency

Barrier islands provide an important role in the ecosystem, these islands that are sometimes mere slips of rocky, barren land slow the movement of storms as they approach the shore. However, storms erode islands and redistribute sand and earth. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill triggered an island destroying cycle.

Move the slider to see how land erosion has reshaped the Barataria bay and Grand Isle between 1985 and 2020. 

Source: NASA.

Barataria Bay, Louisiana, shoreline changes, June 2009 to Oct. 2012, after the oil spill and Hurricane Isaac: a) high loss Year 1 post-spill, decreased loss Year 2, little loss after Isaac; (b) high loss Years 1/2 post-spill, little loss after Isaac; (c) high loss that intensified during Isaac. Source: NASA.

Dwindling shores…

This image of the shorelines near Grand Isle shows the land loss caused by the oil spill. The green area represents the border of the shore before the oil spill.

The spill killed native vegetation that is essential in coastal environments to hold the land together to prevent it from washing away.  The red line shows where the land eroded due to the oil damage.

And the erosion worsened the following year as seen in the yellow line. The green line represents catastrophic land loss just two years later due to Hurricane Isaac.

We Can’t Stop the Storms, but We Can Restore the Island

The Federal Government and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (see video) and private efforts are underway to repair the dunes, levees, and beaches and reclaim land that is washing into the ocean.

Native plants such as live oaks and irises are being planted to preserve the land and support the delicate eco system, which includes thousands of migrating birds each year.

Time is running out. As the Atlantic Hurricane season heats up, Grand Isle will continue to be a target. The efforts taken today can protect the island, the town, and the community for years to come.

Learn more at www.restoregrandisle.com.

Help Grande Isle

If you’ve enjoyed your time reading The Pelican Tide, I hope you’ll consider donating to this worthwhile project.  The people and the coastal wildlife thank you!