For Immediate Release, Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Contact:  Suzanne Parsons Stymiest @ 985-898-5243
 

West Pearl Clean Up Underway
River flow being restored by LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries

            Hurricane Katrina’s path took the storm up the mouth of the Pearl River, causing destruction of hundreds of acres of the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area and blocking the flow of water from the West Pearl.  According to Dennis Kropog, Construction Manager for the LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, the main channel of the West Pearl was blocked, preventing navigation and diverting flow through the wildlife management area. 

            “We needed to clean the West Pearl as quickly as possible,” said Kropog.  “The blockages were changing the hydrology of the area and the Pearl River was starting to re-channel.”  Clearing the West Pearl blockages will help restore the wildlife management area, allow navigation of the Pearl, and assist in the drainage of subdivisions south and east of Slidell.

            “I want to thank the LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries for their assistance in this project,” said Parish President Kevin Davis.  “Many subdivisions east of Slidell depend upon the Pearl River basin for drainage.  It is essential that the river be open and flowing to prevent home flooding when the spring rains start.”

            Randy Myers, Biologist Manager for the LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries discovered the blockage of the West Pearl about a week after Katrina.  “I didn’t recognize the area when I first flew over it,” said Myers.  “It had changed that much.”

            Katrina inflicted significant damage through the Pearl River basin including uprooting marsh vegetation & sediments, turning shrub scrub wetlands into open water, and devastating bottom-land hardwood areas. According to Myers, the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area has lost almost 70% of the canopy cover of its hardwood trees.

            Kropog estimates that almost 35 thousand cubic yards of debris are being removed from the West Pearl.  “Cypress trees with their root balls and knees still attached are linked and bound together to make a plug in the river,” said Kropog.  “We are removing whole oak trees, many over 3 feet in diameter, from the river using a tugboat and crane.”

            The tugboat and crane arrived last Monday, December 5^th from another job site in southwestern Louisiana. Two-man crews are working ten-hour shifts, seven days a week, to clear the West Pearl River.

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