Tapestry Press
Bayou Farewell
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Tapestry Press
Bayou Farewell
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Bayou Farewell, the Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast. 2003. Mike Tidwell. Pantheon Books. 348p. Marsh is sinking, cemeteries are sinking, trees are sinking and dying. South Louisiana loses almost 40 square miles of land that’s replaced by ocean every year. This loss results from Mississippi River levees and a patchwork of canals dug by oil developers. The levees prevent floods that would carry mud over the land. As the land slowly naturally settles, this mud would replenish it. Without the mud, the level subsides. About 1/3 of land loss arises as hundreds of manmade canals widen due to loss of unstable marginal marsh. The Mississippi’s huge sediment load gets dumped over the margin of the continental shelf. Costly plans to divert river water into the marsh to replenish it are stalled due to cash shortages in the state and federal coffers. Consequently, a rich wildlife and seafood habitat shrinks, Cajun culture is threatened; a natural treasure disappears before our eyes.Review written October 2003 Back to Book Reviews
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