| by Andy McDaniels March 26, 2010 Milwaukee, WI—Bob Marshall, Pulitzer prize-winning outdoor editor of The Times-Picayune, addressed attendees of the North American Wildlife Conference at a luncheon hosted by the National Wildlife Federation on Thursday. Marshall spoke to a packed house that included organizations like Orion The Hunters’ Institute, Delta Waterfowl, the Wild Sheep Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, the Boone and Crockett club and the National Rifle Association. From start to finish, his presentation placed a spotlight on the national importance of Coastal Louisiana restoration.
“This is not your typical habitat story. It’s not about a forest being cut or wetlands being drained or a lake being polluted. All of those are bad, and worth addressing. But in most cases, the habitat being impacted can be repaired,” Marshall said. “What’s happening in south Louisiana is much, much worse,” he continued. “One of the greatest expanses of fish and wildlife habitat left in North America is being erased from the map permanently. It’s being converted to open saltwater, into part of the Gulf of Mexico. Two thousand square miles in the last 70 years have been lost. A delta that took nature 6,000 years to build is being erased in a single human lifetime.” Saving the Mississippi River Delta is a daunting task that will require multi-level coordination throughout our local, state, and federal governments. It can be done, but it will require sportsmen and women from across the country to unite to save this national treasure. Bob Marshall is a veteran reporter and columnist at The Times-Picayune and conservation editor of Field and Stream whose work on wetlands related issues has earned two Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other awards. |
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Andy McDaniels is the National Sportsmen Outreach Coordinator for NWF’s Coastal Louisiana Restoration program. Andy grew up hunting and fishing and was immersed in conservation activism at an early age. His grandfather started the Oklahoma Outdoor Council in 1950 which became the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation. In 2002, Andy accepted the position of Executive Director of the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation. In addition, he started the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma, which included the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Quail Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and others.
