Rare access to barrier islands reveals loss of pelican habitat
Pelicans nest on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. Climate change is accelerating the erosion and disappearance of these barrier islands, threatening the habitat of one of last century’s most celebrated conservation success stories — the decades-long effort to bring the pelicans back from the edge of extinction. (AP Photo / Gerald Herbert)
By Christina Larson, Shelby Lum and Gerald Herbert
The all-formats team of Christina Larson, Shelby Lum and Gerald Herbert reported from the ground, the water and from the air to document the impact of climate change and land loss on the vanishing island breeding grounds of Louisiana’s brown pelicans, as well as the people and other wildlife that depend on this coastal region.
The story grew from science writer Larson‘s conversations with researchers tracking the disappearance of coastal islands in southeastern Louisiana. The AP team,including health and science video journalist Lum and New Orleans-based photographer Herbert,then spent months obtaining the necessary permits to visit the islands, which are off-limits to the public.
Marine biologist Bonnie Slaton checks a field camera on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. “Louisiana is rapidly losing land,” said Slaton, a researcher at the University of Lafayette. “Subsidence and sea level rise are a double-whammy.” – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Brown pelicans perch on pilings in marshland in Chauvin, La., Friday, May 20, 2022. The same forces swallowing up coastal islands are also causing southern Louisiana’s saltwater marshes to disappear faster than anywhere else in the country. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island off the coast of southeast Louisiana that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds, is seen from the air, May 17, 2022. A dozen years ago, there were 15 low-lying islands with nesting colonies of Louisiana’s state bird. But today, just six islands in the state harbor brown pelican nests — the rest have disappeared under water. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Nesting pelicans are seen from the air on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Young brown pelicans play in their nest on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Young brown pelicans nest as terns fly overhead on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Young brown pelicans sit in nest on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Brown pelicans congregate on rock revetment along Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
A tree, center, that died from salt water intrusion related to land loss, bears a resemblance to the region’s brown pelicans in Chauvin, La., May 20, 2022. Scientists estimate Louisiana loses one football field worth of ground every 60 to 90 minutes. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Marine biologist Bonnie Slaton checks a field camera on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Marine biologist Bonnie Slaton documents a dead baby brown pelican, while others nest nearby on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
A royal tern lands near other nesting terns on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Marine biologist Andrea Santariello examines an injured baby egret on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Nesting pelicans are seen from the air on Raccoon Island, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island that is a nesting ground for seabirds in Chauvin, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
Nesting pelicans are seen from the air on Queen Bess Island, an island that is a nesting ground for brown pelicans, terns, seagulls and other seabirds in Barataria Bay, La., May 17, 2022. – AP Photo / Gerald Herbert
An hour’s boat ride to Raccoon Island,one of the last remaining refuges, allowed the trio to vividly document in text and striking visuals the effects of coastal erosion,and what remains to be lost: the brown pelicans,Louisiana’s state bird. The loss of habitat threatens the celebrated decades-long effort to bring the pelicans back from the edge of extinction. Herbert,a pilot,flew the team over the islands to understand,from the air, the vulnerabilities of the coastal ecosystem and of Louisiana’s saltwater marshes.
In 2010,Louisiana had 15 low-lying islands with nesting colonies of its state bird,the brown pelican. Today, only six harbor pelican nests remain.
The vanishing islands also impact people living in the region. With two members of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe,the AP team traveled by small boat down the bayous in their community in southern Louisiana to understand how losing so much losing land in just a generation had transformed their way of life and made their future uncertain. The disappearance of barrier islands removes important “speed bumps,” which in a healthy ecosystem would mute the intensity of storms rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico before they hit mainland residential areas.
