BP and the Gulf Barrier Islands National Seashore

[blind ear]

One of the islands off the Mississippi coast, Cat Island, was named so by early explorers because of the Racoon poulation on the island.

I had thought it was part of the Gulf National Seashore but evidently not. In the BP clean up settlemrnt one end of Cat Island was sold to BP. There is a house on the island now. Looking at geological maps there is astreet laid out and house lots already plotted.

I flounder gigged there with a nephew a few weeks ago when I found this out.  I saw oysters in shallow water, sting rays, flounder, other crustacians and the tracks of alligators where they had moved from the swamp to the Gulf, back and forth. The snake like trail between the tracks was distinctive. Between the gator trails and worrying about the boat breaking away it was hard to sleep on the sand.

It is amazing to me that something as fragile and with as much historical signifigance as this island has been allowed to be sacraficed to developement. This land belongs to the nation and the world, not Mississippi or the politicians.

ear

[Conan The Librarian]

I cringe when I see stuff like that happening. These  are amazing places.

[Sourdough]

Ear:  I hear what you are saying, and in a small way I can understand what you are saying.  But I have grown up in Tennessee seeing the government take land from folks that the land was all they owned.  I saw the results of what taking that land created for those folks.  When I lived in New Mexico I knew a lot of people who had been physically forced off their land in the dark of night, by armed troops.  Seen their homes and barns burned to the ground, then dumped on the streets of Alamogordo, and Tularosa.  Took away their livelihood, and their lives in the process.  The government owns far, far, too much land.  They don't need to be picking up more.  We can only save so much for future generations.  The folks in the here and now need a place to live and recreate.  Once the government takes it over they start putting more and more restrictions on it till soon no one is allowed to go there or do anything there.

The federal Government owns 74% of my state.  They strategically located parks and preserves in locations preventing us from building any new roads or railroads from one town to another.  Isolating large populations from any type of transportation except costly air.  Now they are going about designating rivers as Wild and Scenic closing off any river commerce or transportation by motorized boats.  Farther isolating communities.  Go to Utah, or Nevada, and try and find a place to live outside of the cities.  You won't, it's all owned by the government.  We have large National Parks containing millions of acres, that get no visitors.  There is no roads into the area, and under the current rules and regulations there never will be any.  The Park Service must protect it from the public that would destroy it in their opinion.

Yes the island you are referring to might have been nice to preserve, but apparently no one else in your state, including the state, felt that way.  If the government owned it the land needed to go into private hands.  If the government did not own it, they would have had to take it away from someone to make a preserve there. What you feel should have been preserved others are saying, "Gosh we are lucky to be able to have a home in such a beautiful area".  I go back to Tennessee to visit and see homes where there used to be beautiful pastures and farm fields, that I would have liked to preserve forever.  One of the most beautiful farms I ever saw was located in Hendersonville, Tennessee.  That entire farm is now a cemetery.    Some people call it progress, others of us just say life marches on, things change.  If not changed by man, Mother Nature will change it.  All it takes is time.   

[blind ear]

Ear:  I hear what you are saying, and in a small way I can understand what you are saying.  But I have grown up in Tennessee seeing the government take land from folks that the land was all they owned.  I saw the results of what taking that land created for those folks.  When I lived in New Mexico I knew a lot of people who had been physically forced off their land in the dark of night, by armed troops.  Seen their homes and barns burned to the ground, then dumped on the streets of Alamogordo, and Tularosa.  Took away their livelihood, and their lives in the process.  The government owns far, far, too much land.  They don't need to be picking up more.  We can only save so much for future generations.  The folks in the here and now need a place to live and recreate.  Once the government takes it over they start putting more and more restrictions on it till soon no one is allowed to go there or do anything there.

The federal Government owns 74% of my state.  They strategically located parks and preserves in locations preventing us from building any new roads or railroads from one town to another.  Isolating large populations from any type of transportation except costly air.  Now they are going about designating rivers as Wild and Scenic closing off any river commerce or transportation by motorized boats.  Farther isolating communities.  Go to Utah, or Nevada, and try and find a place to live outside of the cities.  You won't, it's all owned by the government.  We have large National Parks containing millions of acres, that get no visitors.  There is no roads into the area, and under the current rules and regulations there never will be any.  The Park Service must protect it from the public that would destroy it in their opinion.

Yes the island you are referring to might have been nice to preserve, but apparently no one else in your state, including the state, felt that way.  If the government owned it the land needed to go into private hands.  If the government did not own it, they would have had to take it away from someone to make a preserve there. What you feel should have been preserved others are saying, "Gosh we are lucky to be able to have a home in such a beautiful area".  I go back to Tennessee to visit and see homes where there used to be beautiful pastures and farm fields, that I would have liked to preserve forever.  One of the most beautiful farms I ever saw was located in Hendersonville, Tennessee.  That entire farm is now a cemetery.    Some people call it progress, others of us just say life marches on, things change.  If not changed by man, Mother Nature will change it.  All it takes is time.

J


I cite this as a case of the people owning the land, not the government. The government should only be there to protect the very limited resource. The same is true in the situations that you talk about. Imminent domain has been allowed to be used even against the protection of the constitution. Protection from use, not use it up. ear

[blind ear]

Sourdough,
You are right, global warming is going to cover the barrier islands with water anyway. ear

[Sourdough]

EAR:  There is no way I would ever move to an area close to the water line.  On the coast or inland.  When the oceans rise due to global warming, or a big storm surge from a hurricane, either one will inundate those areas.  As we see our weather is becoming more volatile, and changing.  Change is a normal thing and we can not do anything about it.  Therefore we need to adapt, mother nature nature does.  Species either adapt or they become extinct, that's the way it works.

I'll use Turnagain Cliffs as an example.  Turnaging Cliffs overlooks Cook Inlet on the southwest side of Anchorage.  Some people thought it was a shame someone built beautiful homes out in the area.  You had a nice scenic view from downtown Anchorage of the unspoiled area to the Southwest.  Then came the BIG Earth Quake of 1964.  All the area of Turnagain Cliffs was shaken so hard it liquified and slid down into the inlet, taking houses, cars, and people with it.  For almost 40 years it has set empty. Slowly returning to nature.  Now they are back building on the area again.  Same situation of silty unstable soil, in an Earth  Quake prone area.  The question is not will there be another Earth Quake, the question is when.  It's hard to build an Earth Quake resistant house when the land it sits on turns to liquid and flows down to the water.

As you say Cat Island will be reclaimed by the Sea.  The first thing will be during storm surges water will cover the island.  The island will either wash away or stay in tact, but the houses will be gone.  This may happen in a few years or it may take generations.  No one knows.