REGULATORY PROCEDURES IMPACT LANDOWNERS' 

 MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS 



Allan B. Ensminger 



Wetlands and Wildlife Management Company 



P.O. Box 158 



Belle Chasse, LA 70037 



ABSTRACT 



The passage of various Federal and State environmental protection laws requiring prior permit 

 approval for activities has imposed management burdens upon many wetland owners and managers. 



Less than 10% of the Louisiana coastal wetlands are included in approved Marsh Management 

 Plans or in plans that have been applied for. The small percentage of wetlands involved in 

 approved plans is not an accurate tabulation of the amount of acreage that is being managed in 

 the coastal marshes. Many programs of open marsh water level management are not listed because 

 the programs were in place before passage of regulatory requirements for intensive marsh 

 management. 



Because of regulatory requirements, some landowners are reluctant to apply for or accept Marsh 

 Management Plans. Landowners object to the requirement of ingress and egress for marine 

 organisms because this requirement does not lend itself to water level management needed for 

 other natural resource habitat production. 



Increased monitoring requirements imposed in permits cause landowners to be faced with 

 employment of consultants or full time personnel to monitor permit compliance. Some aspects 

 of this monitoring may be more academic in scope than necessary for successful management 

 benefits. 



On-site structural mitigation is being denied landowners who do not have approved Marsh 

 Management Plans. This decision is based upon the assumption that landowners and their 

 managers can not be trusted to properly manage their ownership or is based upon the desire to 

 impose the goals of the regulatory agencies upon private landowners. 



INTRODUCTION 



The history of coastal wetland management of Louisiana dates back to the first colonial 

 settlements along the numerous bayous and waterways of the State. Early settlers used these 

 waterways as avenues of access into the interior of the State. Extensive use was also made of 

 the natural levee systems along almost every bayou and stream. Early use of the wetlands was 

 in the form of subsistence hunting and fishing. Farming on the elevated terraces and ridges was 

 a mainstay of the early settlers. Cattle grazing was also allowed on the back side of the natural 

 levee systems. Access into the interior of the wetlands was limited to natural streams, and a few 

 handmade ditches accommodated small water craft such as pirogues and canoes. As use of the 

 coastal zone intensified, extensive navigational canals were constructed to transport products such 



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