2003
NEWS ARCHIVE
Public
Says State Should Buy Elmer's Island
December 2, 2003
The votes have been
tallied, and the public has spoken - or at least they've responded
to a survey to say the state of Louisiana should buy Elmer's Island
and keep it relatively primitive.
That's the gist of
a report released Tuesday (Dec. 2) by two LSU AgCenter researchers
who conducted an Internet survey to find out what people would
like to see done with Elmer's Island, a 1,700-acre parcel of land
directly across from the bridge to Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish.
The land, which is
one of only three Louisiana beachfronts accessible by car, is
on the market. Dr. Rex Caffey and Dr. Krishna Paudel of the LSU
AgCenter's Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
used a grant from the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program to measure
public attitudes regarding Elmer's Island.
"We saw 96 percent
in favor of state purchase - both online and in intercept surveys,"
Caffey said. "It's really amazing. It indicates strong, strong
public support."
The survey results
show people want a state park or a wildlife management area. "The
preference for development is very low," Caffey stressed.
People want improved roads, restroom facilities and a waste station
- but not much more. The public response is consistent with the
way the area had been managed in the past.
"People want access
with limited restrictions, but they want enforcement of rules
and regulations," Caffey said. "Pollution and litter
concerns were huge in the survey."
Elmer's Island contains
beachfront and wetlands, with marshes and dunes that provide habitat
for fish and birds. It was owned by Jay Elmer, who, for fees,
allowed public access to the area for camping, surf fishing, birding,
crabbing, beachcombing, swimming and other activities for more
than 30 years. It has been closed for more than a year.
As a result of Elmer's
death and the subsequent offering of the property for sale, several
legislators introduced a concurrent resolution last spring in
the Louisiana House of Representatives asking the governor and
the commissioner of administration to take steps to enable the
state to purchase Elmer'sIsland. The resolution was approved by
both houses of the Louisiana Legislature and was signed by the
president of the senate and speaker of the house on May 21.
At the same time, a
grassroots movement emerged to push for state ownership of the
area.
Caffey and Paudel put
a survey on the Internet on May 15 and collected 2,493 responses
in less than 12 weeks. The surveyors also conducted 203 face-to-face
interviews with visitors to Grand Isle State Park to verify the
accuracy of the results. The answers in the interviews were consistent
with the online answers, Caffey said.
Most people participating
in the survey live two to three hours away - with more than 60
percent of the respondents from the Baton Rouge or New Orleans
areas. According to Caffey, 87 percent of the respondents were
familiar with Elmer's Island and 75 percent had been there. About
one-third of those who visited had been there more than 25 times.
Ninety-six percent of the respondents said they think Elmer's
Island should be in state hands, and 98 percent said they'd visit
if it were.
Elmer's Island is only
a few miles from Grand Isle State Park, which gets an average
of more than 100,000 visitors a year, Caffey said. But Elmer's
Island is a much larger area. He estimated that 40,000 to 50,000
people would visit Elmer's Island each year and generate between
$200,000 and $300,000 in fees.
"People, on average,
said they'd pay $5 per person per day," Caffey said. "The
average maximum was about $10."
Concerning the value
of the island, Caffey calculated a wide range of possibilities
using a business property appraisal model.
"Given realistic
assumptions about fees and costs, I would say that this range
is between $1.9 million and $2.8 million," he said. "This
could supplement the original offer of $1 million the state made
earlier this year."
Caffey said the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has bonding authority that
could be used to purchase the land, but it doesn't have the authority
to charge fees for lands it owns and manages. That situation could
be changed by an act of the legislature.
The economist estimated
total economic activity associated with reopening Elmer’s
Island would range between $3.7 million and $7.4 million. Although
some people may argue that tourist expenditures once associated
with Elmer's Island are now being spent elsewhere in Louisiana
and that the state wouldn't be losing tourism dollars if it doesn't
purchase the property. Caffey disagrees.
"Clearly, some
of that economic activity has been lost," he said. "But
there are few close substitutes for Elmer's Island in Louisiana."
Caffey believes a minimum of 20 percent of the economic activity
he projects as a result of state ownership of Elmer's Island would
be money that people would otherwise spend somewhere else - probably
Mississippi or Texas.
"Approximately
$750,000 in direct tourism expenditures or $1.5 million in total
economic activity is being lost each year that Elmer's Island
remains closed to the public," he said.
The survey data are
being used by the Division of Administration as it develops a
proposal, which will likely be acted on by the outgoing Foster
administration or by Gov.-elect Kathleen Blanco.
Contact: Rex Caffey
at (225) 578-2266 or rcaffey@agcenter.lsu.edu
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