The state of Louisiana has spent millions of dollars turning a sandy island in south Jefferson Parish into one of the Gulf Coast’s foremost refuges for birds and other wildlife.
As NOLA.com reports, now state leaders hope to do what conservationists say is unthinkable—pave over part of Elmer’s Island Wildlife Refuge to build a commercial airport servicing small jets and private planes.
An airport lease agreement proposing two runways, an air traffic control tower, terminal and hangars was quietly approved by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries last month. The agreement surprised many wildlife scientists familiar with the refuge.
Wildlife and Fisheries officials say the airport will improve public access to the refuge and neighboring Grand Isle, a popular fishing destination linked to Elmer’s Island by a small bridge. Four senior Wildlife and Fisheries officials declined to say how the airport might affect the island’s wildlife or the wetland area where the airport is proposed. Officials say the agency will rely on the permitting process to flag any environmental concerns or land use limitations.
“With all the birds there, this poses a risk to aviation,” said Phil Stouffer, a conservation biologist at LSU. “Elmer’s Island is not a huge place, and this (airport) is plunked down in the middle of it. You can’t do that and expect the marsh and the rest of the refuge to function the way it did before.”
