Hurricane Sandy Survivors Visit Delcambre

Press Contact: Wendell Verret at (800) 884-6120 Ext.1; Twin Parish Port Commission; [email protected]

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Mark Schexnayder (second from left) discusses Bucktown Marina redevelopment following Hurricane Katrina with New Jersey Extension leader Peter Rowe (left), NJ coastal community specialist Ryan Orgera, and New York coastal processes specialist (right) Jay Tanski.

The Twin Parish Port Commission and Louisiana Sea Grant hosted survivors of Hurricane Sandy from New York and New Jersey who visited Delcambre on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. The group consisted of Sea Grant agencies who visited Louisiana coastal communities to understand storm recovery issues. One year after Hurricane Sandy, the New Jersey and New York Sea Grant programs are still struggling with storm recovery issues – ranging from community rebuilding and flood insurance to impacts on recreational and commercial fisheries. In the eight years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, communities like Delcambre and Cameron, with help from Louisiana Sea Grant, have addressed many of these same issues Sandy survivors are now grappling with and will continue to grapple with for many years to come.

The exchange project brought several Extension personnel from the New Jersey and New York Sea Grant programs to Louisiana for four days so they can learn about and see Louisiana’s storm recovery efforts – what worked, what didn’t work, potential pitfalls and potential issues Sandy survivors may encounter. North East Extension personnel will return home with a set of tools and experiences to help their programs and constituents deal with ongoing recovery.

During their visit, North East Extension personnel met with Louisiana Sea Grant personnel, as well as with state and local officials, who worked storm recovery. They toured urban, suburban and rural locations to witness what has returned and what has not.

The week-long visit ended with a panel discussion and question and answer session covering a variety of recovery topics.

Topics of interest for North East Extension personnel included: storm resilient marinas, marina redevelopment, CDBG grants, slow redevelopment impact on local tax base, flood insurance, consequence of communities not becoming resilient, how to actually start implementing the planning, policy and regulations to become resilient, shoreline hardening versus living shorelines, elevation vs. retreat, climate adaption planning.

After arriving in New Orleans, they traveled to Delcambre on May 6, 2014. They were given a tour of the community, discussed the devastation, recovery, looked at what people have done to prepare for the next storm, and what people haven’t done. They visited the new marina in Delcambre and the ongoing boat landing project.

While having lunch in Delcambre, there was a general discussion about the Delcambre recovery with those that have been involved including university officials and local government and community leaders including Tom Sammons, director of the University of Louisiana architecture department; Thomas Hymel, local marine fisheries agent; Scott Saunier, councilman for Town of Delcambre; Wendell Verret, director for Twin Parish Port Commission; Mark Shirley and Tui Bui, AgCenter agents for Vermilion and St. Mary Parish; Kevin Savoie, AgCenter agent for Cameron; Anne Dugas, research associate for Louisiana Sea Grant; Tammy Gordon, the Twin Parish Port Commission’s community relations director; and other officials from Louisiana Sea Grant. The group also talked about how university students got involved in the planning and recovery and how the Sandy survivors might take advantage of similar resources.

The Sea Grants agencies across the United States are similar to agricultural extension services except for the marine and fisheries industries. The agency is funded by NOAA and is present in many coastal states.