By John N. Felsher
After
Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, attention naturally
focused on the human catastrophe.
With
thousands of people dead or potentially facing death and once vibrant
communities in shambles, the plight of fish and wildlife hardly registers
in the minds of people. However, the storm not only killed people, but
wildlife and fish. More importantly, it ravaged critical wetland habitat,
perhaps permanently.
The
salty storm surge flooded prime fishing areas in southeast Louisiana
and neighboring states. As salty water poured into fresh or brackish
marshes, bass that could not find sweeter water died.
When
Hurricane Andrew clobbered the Atchafalaya Basin in 1992, hundreds of
millions of fish died because the storm disturbed organic matter at
the bottom of lakes and bayous. Decaying vegetation consumes oxygen.
Saltwater
species probably fared better. Fish in coastal bays could move to other
areas or take refuge in deep gulf waters. About a week after the storm,
anglers as far east as Terrebonne Parish began fishing again. However,
the storm likely caused damage to marshes east of Terrebonne Parish.
“Our
long-term concern is what happened to the marshes themselves,” said
Harry Blanchet, the finfish program manager in the Marine Fisheries
Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Baton
Rouge. “The state already loses about 25 square miles of marsh each
year to coastal erosion. Marshes are nursery grounds for many species.
The question is, how much marsh did we lose with Katrina.”
Like
people, animals either flee storms or hunker down to try and ride them
out. Ground dwellers, such as deer and rabbits, probably suffered the
most. If they did not find dry ground, they drowned. Squirrels could
simply cling to trees to ride out the storm, as long as their tree didn’t
fall. Birds could fly from danger.
“We
had a fairly good deer herd at the mouth of the Mississippi River in
Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area and Delta National Wildlife Refuge
south of Venice,” said Dave Moreland, the LDWF Wildlife Division administrator.
“That herd may be wiped out. I understand some Mississippi River levees
were out of the water. If they can swim to higher ground, deer might
survive. If not, they drown. Historically, that herd supplied stock
for half the state when we released deer in the 1960s.”
In
forests, deer and other animals can generally survive a storm better
than they can in open marshes. Marshes provide little high ground to
escape rising waters. In a swamp or a forest, deer, rabbits and other
animals can often cling to trees, stumps or floating debris and survive.
The
marshes of southeast Louisiana create outstanding habitat for waterfowl.
The Mississippi River delta serves as one of the best winter grounds
for ducks and geese in North America. The area contained few ducks at
the time, but waterfowl coming down the Mississippi Flyway may need
to find another place to go.
“We
may have lost that habitat for ducks,” Moreland lamented. “It was
some of the best duck habitat in the country. Hunting in that area may
be slim this winter. Ducks can go somewhere else, but if we lose habitat,
ducks can’t live in that area.”
Fortunately,
nature can rebuild fish and game stocks much faster than people can
rebuild cities, as long as quality habitat remains. Nature abhors a
vacuum. Once conditions return to normal in an area, remnant survivors
or stock from adjacent unaffected areas quickly repopulate empty habitat.
“Mother
Nature is quite capable of responding faster and more effectively than
people do,” Blanchet said. “A hurricane does produce some benefits
for the environment. Storms are a natural part of the system in which
fish and animals live. Assuming the habitat survives, fish and wildlife
can recover, but the entire geography of the affected area will change.”
In
the short term, fish will see little pressure in the hardest hit areas
for quite some time. That might allow a slight bump in populations.
In addition, nutrients flowing into an estuary cause shrimp, crabs and
baitfish to bloom after a severe storm. Less than a year after storms
ravaged Florida in 2004, sportsmen recorded bumper crops of shrimp and
crabs in the areas hardest hit. Game fish soon respond to this abundance
of bait.
“Over
time, nature responds,” Moreland said. “Nature can repopulate areas
if possible. If some animals survived in those areas, they will repopulate
habitat that can sustain them.”
Nature
always runs in cycles. For instance, if rising water forces rabbits
and coyotes to share constricted areas, coyotes feast upon the cornered
rabbits, at first. Rabbit populations drop drastically. When coyotes
can no longer find rabbits, they may begin to die of starvation. As
coyotes die, more rabbits survive to adulthood.
As
water recedes, new plants grow. With little competition from their brethren,
rabbits find abundant food. Rabbit survival rates increase. As the rabbit
population blooms, remaining coyotes find excellent hunting so they
might survive to produce more coyotes.
In
addition, good habitat for one species might make poor habitat for another
species. A storm knocking down trees in a forest displaces squirrels,
but the openings in the canopy may cause more underbrush. Deer, rabbit
and quail populations might blossom with the increased browse and cover.
While
anglers won’t return to their legendary southeastern Louisiana honeyholes
anytime soon, fish and game stocks will eventually rebound. Perhaps,
they might even come back better than ever. It happened before.
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