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A Visual Guide to the Plague Killing Louisiana's Roseau Cane

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Thu, 2017-06-29 00:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Photo from Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

nola.com - by Tristan Baurick - June 28, 2017

A fast-moving plague of foreign insects is decimating marshlands that bind the fragile lower Mississippi River Delta. Identified only two months ago, the Asian bug is wiping out vast stands of roseau cane, Louisiana's most erosion- and storm-resistant wetland plant. As marsh rapidly turns to open water, the state has come up with no money or viable solutions to combat loss.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

CLICK HERE - Louisiana’s coast was already sickly. Now it’s being hit by a plague.

CLICK HERE - State Issues Warning on Transporting Roseau Cane

 

Country / Region Tags: 
US - Gulf Coast
US - South
US - SouthEast
General Topic Tags: 
Agriculture
Environment
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Problem
Situation Report
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Environment
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Thu, 2017-07-20 22:30 — Kathy Gilbeaux

nola.com - by Tristan Baurick - July 20, 2017

The insect invasion that's killing critical wetlands in the Mississippi River Delta has drawn the federal government's attention. 

The 2018 agricultural appropriations bill directs federal agencies to develop a plan for eradicating the Asian scale insect that has wiped out more than 200,000 acres of roseau cane, a wetland grass that holds much of lower delta together. The bill was approved by the U.S. Senate appropriations committee on Thursday (July 20) . . . 

 . . . The provision has no direct funding attached to it. Rather, it directs the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to begin developing an eradication plan with other federal agencies and state and university scientists already responding to the crisis . . . 

 . . . “Roseau's disappearance from the Mississippi Delta is hastening erosion, and may expose oil and gas pipelines to strong waves and storms. Shipping channels could shift and fill in as river banks held in place by roseau begin to unravel, state officials say” . . . 

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Tue, 2017-07-25 08:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

nola.com - by Tristan Baurick - July 24, 2017

The foreign insect decimating wetlands in the lower Mississippi River Delta has spread much wider than scientists thought. It's now been found in at least 11 parishes on the Louisiana coast and around Lake Ponchartrain. 

A survey by the LSU AgCenter has confirmed that the Asian insect, known as a scale or mealy bug, has moved far beyond Plaquemines Parish, where it has affected more than 200,000 acres of roseau cane, a tall-growing grass that's critically important for marsh stability and wildlife habitat.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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