Gulf Restoration Network

It’s been two years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, so the health of the Gulf has been on my mind alot lately. The Gulf Restoration Network works on this problem and many others, including the so called «dead zone», the toxic algae bloom that forms in the Gulf every summer from excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the water, plus the clear cutting of acres of old growth cypress trees, which are being decimated for nothing other than (and this is unbef***inglievable to me) mulch. Yup, whole swamps are dying so we can have mulch for our gardens. Wait, there’s more. You may not have heard that we lose a football field of Louisiana’s wet lands every hour. That’s a staggering number. This is due to both mismanagement of the Mississippi River, which used to deposit lovely silt into the Gulf through its yearly flood, and the erosion caused by the oil companies’ canals and dredging. Yes, I am aware that hurricanes and other acts of nature cause some of this land loss, but let’s get real. This is our problem, and much of it is our fault. Other GRN programs are Gulf Fish Forever, which addresses overfishing and is working to set lower catch limits for recreational fishermen/​women, working with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to learn how we can adapt to the changes caused by global warming (shut up; it’s real), Florida’s Nature Coast Coalition, which protects habitat and species, plus the aforementioned coastal wetlands and barrier islands restoration, and stopping clear cutting of marsh cypress forests. GRN is also working with the MRGO Must Go Coalition to pressure the Army Corps of Engineers (yes, them again) to close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, thereby restoring wetlands lost to mismanagement of The Mississippi. Go to
for more on that.
The coastal wetlands of the Gulf states make up a small part of the total land mass of our country, but the impact of the loss of this rich and varied natural wonderland will be felt everywhere. Thank you, GRN, for all you do.