I’ve seen the 1984 movie “The Karate Kid” an embarrassing number of times.
Since I’ve always been obsessed with wetting a line, my favorite scene is when the unassuming handy man and karate guru Mr. Miyagi takes the hero of the story, Daniel LaRusso, fishing in a small rowboat.
While LaRusso frets about when he’s going to learn to kick and punch, Miyagi demands the eager student climb to the bow of the boat, without scaring the fish, to “learn balance” because, according to the wise teacher, “balance is key.”
Admittedly, it’s a bit of a stretch and requires poetic license to make this comparison, but when it comes to managing Louisiana’s and our nation’s land and water resources, many of our current leaders need to take Mr. Miyagi’s instruction, climb to the bow of the boat, learn balance and try not to “scare fish.”
A few recent examples illustrate this point. In late April and early May, word began to spread that potentially Space X or other space exploration companies were in talks to purchase as much as 130,000 acres of wetlands near Pecan Island and other coastal marsh communities in Vermilion and Cameron parishes.
Details have been scant. However, in an article on TheAdvocate.com on May 7, State Senator Bob Hensgens of Abbeville confirmed at least two aerospace companies have inquired about purchasing land in the area. The article states that two bills filed during this year’s legislative session are designed to “attract aerospace companies to Louisiana” and “offer tax incentives while limiting certain lawsuits and exempting some records from public disclosure.”
NDAs
The article goes on to state “several legislators have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) at the request of Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration precluding them from discussing specifics about the bills or a potential aerospace company.” Hensgens, to his credit, was not one of those legislators, he said.
In case you misread that last paragraph, according to the article, Governor Jeff Landry’s administration asked Louisiana elected officials to sign agreements that make it illegal for them to discuss the intent of a piece of legislation with the public. Let that sink in.
Since that news began to circulate, a host of duck hunters, fishermen, wetland conservation advocates and property owners have been asking some pretty obvious questions about the impacts to some very valuable and very vulnerable duck, bird and fish habitats if and when an aerospace facility gets built.
There may be nothing untoward about the agreements. The impacts to arguably the most valuable coastal waterfowl habitat in North America may be minimal. Perhaps there’s a plan to mitigate for any negative impacts to fish and wildlife habitats and access to hunting and fishing. Communities across South Louisiana could benefit greatly from the investments and maybe the roads and bridges and levees in the area will all be fortified and improved.
But, cloaking the discussions and the legislation in non-disclosure agreements and leaving those who live, hunt, fish and farm in that area to wonder if the deal is already done is not doing much to alleviate the sneaking suspicions that their growing concerns are being ignored.
Massive projects
The same can be said for those living, hunting and fishing near the massive artificial intelligence-generating data centers being built in North Louisiana and in West Feliciana Parish. An estimated $40-$50 billion is being invested in constructing the gargantuan facilities in Louisiana alone, which consume so much energy they can require multiple electric power facilities and can use as much as 100 million gallons of water annually to cool the enormous servers and processors.
While not all the water is consumed or lost, the questions must be asked about where this water comes from and where it goes once it gets used? Is it being drawn from groundwater aquifers, local lakes, rivers or wetlands? What impacts to wildlife and fish habitat, water and air quality result from building a 5-6 mile long and mile wide computer?
Again, non-disclosure agreements encouraged by the Landry administration have been involved in negotiations to attract these massive projects. Recent news reports indicate that somewhere between 50-100 NDAs pertaining to construction projects have been signed by local and state officials since late 2024.
The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion
NDAs also played a role in the cancellation of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. After an extraordinarily transparent, decade-plus process involving scores of public meetings and legislative hearings, panels and reports from scientific experts, extensive engineering, design and modeling and more than $750 million in oil spill penalties invested in building what would have been Louisiana’s largest and most significant coastal restoration project, the decision to cancel it was made by a handful of state and parish officials behind closed doors who were barred from talking about it with the public.
The decision to cancel the project, according to state coastal officials, was made in large part due to concerns about impacts to oysters and brown shrimp, yet the benefits clearly spelled out in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement for ducks, redfish, mullet, white shrimp and a host of other fish and wildlife species and to sustaining wetlands and protecting coastal communities were never mentioned. Didn’t seem to be much interest in finding a balance for those who took it upon themselves to cancel the project.
The needs of Louisiana
I have lived in Louisiana for 50 years and hope to live here until I take my last breath. I am fully aware historically our state has failed to attract and retain the industries and job opportunities of many of our neighbors. I have watched friends, coworkers and family members leave Louisiana to find better jobs, better schools for their children and better infrastructure. Economic development for our state must be encouraged and secured to prevent our brightest and most talented from constantly leaving.
I also chose to stay, like many of you, because I’m proud of where we live. I made that choice in large part because of the incredible natural resources and hunting and fishing opportunities our state provides. We know Louisiana and the people who live here benefit from that abundance and there must be a balance between the needs of developers and industry and the needs of our lands, waters, fish and wildlife.
Lawmakers intentionally hiding from public discourse, the potential negative impacts of large-scale industrial development, and decisions to cancel critical habitat restoration projects has thrown public trust and potentially the ecological needs of Louisiana out of balance.
It’s time for many elected officials in this state to step up on the bow of the rowboat and demonstrate they have their balance.
