Monday, August 6, 2018: 10:15 AM-11:30 AM
342, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Co-organizers:
Caroline E. Ridley
,
Sarah Anderson
and
Astrid Caldas
This special session will take advantage of our location next to one of the last remaining freshwater coastal wetland landscapes in the USA in Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Barataria Preserve. We will introduce some of the major policy issues surrounding this unique ecosystem and explore how science has played or is playing a role in addressing them, basing our discussion around the 2017 Coastal Master Plan. Some topics the session will explore are: the use of coastal resources by multiple stakeholders, coastal land loss, hydrologic modification, habitat loss and restoration, and the role of local communities in the coastal ecosystem. The ESA Policy Section will invite local ecologists and policy experts for a panel discussion followed by a moderated, audience driven, Q&A. We hope attendees will come away from the session with a greater understanding of the complex issues that surround this unique coastal ecosystem. This special session will complement two separate field trips being offered through ESA to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Barataria Preserve, New Orleans around science education/literary and ecological understanding to inform coastal wetland management.
