Great article from New Orleans Times- Picayune. The article examines how one community contemplates a controlled hunt of an invasive wetlands rodent.  Not only have levees and navigation channels damaged wetlands, but natural causes, such as sea rise and a pesky critter called Nutria, are adding to the issue.

Nutria were introduced from South America nearly eighty years ago.  They were responsible for damaging over 100,000 acres of wetlands during a five year study. Like many invasives, the question is how to deal with them. Check out this informative article:

Nutria hunting proposed along Bayou St. John
http://www.nola.com/pets/index.ssf/2010/01/nutria_hunting_proposed_along.html

Season’s Greetings! Keith C. from New York was our winner for the autumn giveaway. He won a Drake MST hunting coat. We’re about to start adding your comments to the Tell Us Your Story page, but we wanted to share Keith’s thoughts. We think they sum up our reason to help restore Coastal Louisiana wetlands:

Vanishing wetlands, wherever they are, affect us all, not just those of us who hunt delicious waterfowl. Wetlands are nature’s re-generator. They harbor and support so many species of flora and fauna. This world is in grave danger if we continue to lose wetlands, rain forests, and prairies. We, as a species, are incredibly destructive. We need to reverse this course.

Absolutely Keith! Hope that coat is well-used! Since there was such a high demand for the Drake MST Strata Systems coat, we decided to offer it one more time. Qualify for this month’s giveaway when you subscribe to our newsletter by 11:59 PST on January 31, 2010. Register today.