Videos

Teeg S. from Recycled Fish talks about Vanishing Paradise - The Louisiana Delta is disappearing at a rate of 1 football field every hour. This is devastating to fish and wildlife populations, but it also poses a great risk to people living along the Gulf coast

Outdoor Writers Visit the Vanishing Paradise

Two small business owners discuss the Mississippi River Delta's rapid land loss and make the case that a planned sediment diversion known as Myrtle Grove can be part of the solution. Featuring Captain Ryan Lambert of Cajun Fishing Adventures and Foster Creppel of Woodland Plantation.

Interviews of multiple sportsmen about coastal land loss in Louisiana.

Approximately 40 miles south of New Orleans and on its eastern side, the Mississippi River Levee ends. This is different from just on the west side of the river where the levee extends another 30 miles southward. Because there is no levee on the eastern side, the Mississippi River is allowed to overflow its banks during the spring flood. This helps to sustain the adjacent marshes as Louisiana is seeing rapid rates of coastal land loss.

As the Mississippi River continues to rise and spillways are opened to relieve pressure on the levees, many coastal residents are realizing the raw power of the river and its ability to rejuvenate the delta it once formed. Far from a reality, but essential to sustaining the delta, plans to diver the river outsided the levee system are being considered. These measures will not only help to balance the local ecosystem but will begin rebuilding parts of America;s largest expanse of wetlands.

As the rising waters of the Mississippi River continue to impact communities along its banks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and flood control managers are desperately trying to mitigate the impacts. In Louisiana, the solution has been to open spillways that relieve pressure on the levees and divert some of the river's waters to the Gulf of Mexico.

The human consequences of this flood will be catastrophic and long-lasting. Massive flooding has already hit parts of Tennessee and Mississippi and tens of thousands more homes are at risk of flooding. New Orleans is carefully monitoring the rising waters.

Produced by Jared Serigne

Find out why Kevin VanDam and Mike Iaconelli think projects like the Davis Pond diversion are important.

Teeg interviewed several guests including the guys from Vanishing Paradise. 

2011 Bassmaster Classic competitors Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli and Steve Browning discuss the need to protect and restore the Louisiana coast and the Mississippi River delta.