There is a lot going on in the Basin this spring.
The Atchafalaya at Butte La Rose was higher than it has been since 1997 and is now falling slowly. (http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/eng/Edhd/Wcontrol/opfiles/051884.asp)
Crawfish are big and plentiful and people are out on the water.
Be careful in the high water and strong currents.

Sediment:
There will surely be a lot of new sediment when the water goes down.
If you want to see the story of delta building and coastal decline, take a look at this link from this NASA site:
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Stennis/2008120/AERONET_Stennis.2008120.aqua
If you have trouble with the long link, you can get there with just:
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/ and click on the red box over south louisiana, then click previous to find a good one with low cloud cover. I picked the one above because it is close to the peak flow out of the Basin and has minimal cloud cover, so you can see where the sediment is going. Barataria-Terrebonne is dreadfully dark while the Atchafalaya and Mississippi outlets are tan.

Legislation:
House Bill 1135 was passed by the House Natural Resource Committee to the full House and, as of this writing, was in the House Appropriations Committee. The bill redefines some of the responsibilities of the Department of Natural Resources and the Legislature in planning Atchafalaya Basin projects, provides for an Annual Plan to be created by the Promotion and Research Board and approved by the legislature, and sets up a fund for Atchafalaya Basin projects. The Bill…
“Creates the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund to be comprised of revenues from mineral leases on state lands in the Atchafalaya Basin. Provides that 50%, not to exceed $10 million annually, of the bonuses, royalties, lease payments, and severance taxes will be deposited to the fund. Provides that the monies in the fund are to be used exclusively for projects contained in the state or federal master plans, an annual plan, or to provide match for federal monies. In any one year, 75% shall be used for water management or water quality or access projects and the remaining 25% may be used to complete ongoing projects that are in accordance with the mission statement of the state master plan. Prohibits use of the funds for salaries or operating costs of the program or the department.”
You can read the entire text and follow it as it gets amended here:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/byinst.asp?sessionid=08rs&billtype=HB&billno=1135
or go to the www.legis.state.us site and search for HB1135.

Controversy:
The arguments over Bayou Postillion continue. The Lafayette Sunday Advertiser printed a story about the controversy and I think that it is an even-handed look at the arguments. It is titled: Digging for truth: A special investigation of the Bayou Postillion dredging and can be found at: http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805040336
If the link doesn’t work, go to TheAdvertiser.com and search for “Digging for Truth”.

Events:
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STEP OUTSIDE DAY AND NEOTROPIC SONGBIRD TOUR SLATED FOR MAY 10 ON THE SHERBURNE W.M.A.
Release Date: 04/29/2008The 5th annual STEP OUTSIDE Day, open to all children and adults and targeted to those with special needs, and the Neotropic Songbird Tour will be held on Saturday, May 10, in Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin.

STEP OUTSIDE Day offers diverse outdoor activities at the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Headquarters, near Krotz Springs. It is located on LA Hwy. 975 three miles south of U.S. Hwy. 190 on the east side of the Atchafalaya River levee. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and activities run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Neotropic Songbird Tour, also on the Sherburne WMA, starts with assembly from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Whiskey Bay (Sherburne WMA) Exit on Interstate 10. Look for a gravel pull-off just after turning onto LA Hwy. 975. The Sherburne WMA offers one of the highest densities of nesting neotropic songbirds in North America.

STEP OUTSIDE is a national program administered by the National Shooting Sports Foundation to increase participation in outdoor sports. Last year more than 550 registrants participated in the event.

This year’s event will include fishing, archery, boating, target and trap shooting, wood crafts construction, nature photography, bird watching and decoy painting.

Also featured will be exhibits on adaptive equipment, water safety, Louisiana black bear information, turkey trapping demonstrations, trapping techniques, and turkey and duck calling. Be sure to stick around for the prize drawings that take place during the lunch hour near the registration tent.

No alcoholic beverages or glass containers will be allowed on the premises. Due to the nature of activities, liability waiver forms must be completed.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are the local sponsors.

STEP OUTSIDE Day is targeted to people with disabilities or those with little or no opportunity to engage in such activities, providing them with mentoring and safe, hands-on experience.

Pre-registration is encouraged. To register or get detailed driving directions to the Sherburne Headquarters, call the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Atchafalaya Basin Floodway System Project Office, at 337-585-0853 or the LDWF Region 6 Office at 337-948-0255.

During STEP OUTSIDE Day a presentation will be held by the National Audubon Society to dedicate the Atchafalaya Basin as an Important Bird Area. The Important Bird Area program identifies areas to concentrate conservation efforts to provide vital habitat for breeding, migratory and wintering bird species. The Atchafalaya Basin is being identified for globally important concentrations of white ibis, wood storks and painted buntings.

The Neotropic Songbird Tour will introduce participants to bird identification through observation and their specific calls. These vocalizations, originating from the dense understory of the tall canopy of deciduous bottomland hardwood forest, are usually the first clues to the area’s wealth of bird species.

Tour participants will be guided to multiple sites where facilitators will be available to assist them with bird identifications. At each site it may be possible to hear 15 species of birds. Some birds are easily seen whereas others are elusive, so binoculars may be useful.

Songbird tour stops are each estimated to last 30 to 45 minutes. The tour will include a mist-netting demonstration and conclude around 10:30 a.m.

Participants are then encouraged to continue five miles north from the last stop to the Sherburne WMA Headquarters to participate in STEP OUTSIDE Day.

Links to STEP OUTSIDE Day and its sponsors:
http://www.stepoutside.org
http://www.nssf.org
Bird Checklist of US Fish & Wildlife Service
http://library.fws.gov/Refuges/atchafalaya_birds03.pdf
Recreation in New Orleans District, Corps of Engineers
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/recreation

For more information, contact Tony Vidrine at 337-948-0255 or tvidrine@wlf.louisiana.gov.

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BATON ROUGE AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD TRIP

NOTE: All fieldtrips meet at Coffee Call (I-10 and College Drive) unless otherwise stated and are open to the public. There are no fees. Unless otherwise noted, call Robert Mclaughlin at 225.926.2223 during business hours or by email at 20legend@cox.net to pre-register. Bring a hat and/or sunscreen and insect repellant on trips.

Saturday, May 10th, 2008- Birding Whiskey Bay Field Trip

International Migratory Bird Day is May 10th. Join Richard Gibbons as he leads a group on the Neotropical Songbird tour in Sherburne Wildlife Mgt Area in the Atchafalaya Basin. This area features one of the nation’s greatest concentrations of nesting neotropical songbirds. Come find target birds like Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Painted Bunting, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Yellow-breasted Chat, while watching overhead for passing Swallowtail Kites and Roseate Spoonbills.

Then, after the songbird tour, be sure to stop by “Step Outside Day” at the Sherburne WMA headquarters. This family event is designed to introduce children and those with disabilities to outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, and, of course, birding! BRAS will have a booth with games and bird walks for the kids. The event runs from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and the food is free! This year’s event will feature a dedication ceremony of one of Louisiana’s first National Audubon designated Important Bird Areas — the Atchafalaya Basin. The ceremony will take place at 1:30pm. And before you leave the area, be sure to check out the large Cliff Swallow colony located under the Hwy 190 bridge on highway 975.

We will meet at Coffee Call at 6:15 am for a prompt 6:30 departure. As usual we will carpool to the birding site. Please pre-register (see above).