Louisiana’s coastline is disappearing. Can the bayou be saved?
When Don Beaulieu strolls in his middle-class neighborhood of Venetian Isles near the Rigolets strait, net-winged shrimp boats lashed to backyard docks line his path rather than suburban trappings like tennis courts.
Many residents here sideline their income with commercial fishing. Facing nature’s combination of beauty and danger outside the levees has been a point of pride.
Yet Mr. Beaulieu, in his 60s, is considering leaving, given the near-constant floodwaters under his house. When he first moved here 30 years ago, his home was safely nestled behind a thriving marsh. Today, the Gulf is literally at his door.
Mr. Beaulieu’s predicament is shared by tens of thousands of Louisianians juggling rising insurance rates, fading property values, and a growing sense, as he
That sinking feeling“We are water people”
