CAUSES: PHBvlOMENA DIRECTLY RELATED TO HUMAN ACTIVITIES 



Dr. Roger Saucier, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station 



I would like to depart from strictly summarizing the excellent presentations made 

 in the session I moderated and present my reflections on the underlying common concerns 

 which I heard voiced during many of the conference discussions. 



A great deal of concern has been expressed about the formidability and 

 inevitability of certain natural processes. We are not likely to do anything about the 

 processes of regional subsidence and sea-level rise; however this is not justification for a 

 defeatist attitude. Many natural and man-induced processes are controllable, and 

 perhaps even reversible. I am quite impressed, not just about what we know about these 

 processes, but how we have taken steps to apply this knowledge. In the past, our 

 management decisions have been made, all too frequently, not out of ignorance of the 

 processes, but more often out of disregard of them, perhaps influenced by the thought 

 that we could do nothing about them. 



Several concepts for erosion control have been discussed, such as freshwater 

 diversion and marsh creation. I am particularly impressed by the potential of these, 

 because they are not brute force, man-against-nature approaches. They recognize what 

 nature, itself, has done and can do with assistance by man. This view is obviously 

 influenced by my background in geography, a science once referred to by a prominent 

 geographer as human ecology. This definition recognizes man as part of the ecosystem, 

 rather than a force apart from the ecosystem. Man, thus, should optimize his use of 

 natural resources ~ in this case water and sediment — to achieve those conditions and 

 values he desires. There may come a time when man has to turn exclusively to concrete 

 and steel approaches, but I do not think we are near this point. Concrete and steel now 

 have their place, but as means of influencing natural processes, not of preventing them. 



In the near future, I see the need to field-test and demonstrate rather than 

 procrastinate. As scientists, we believe certain things can work, but decisionmakers and 

 the public have to be convinced. Also, rough spots on the road between theory and 

 practice have to be smoothed out. 



We must realize that coastal Louisiana of tomorrow will not be the same as today. 

 But certainly today it was not the same as it was yesterday or the day before. Man often 

 reacts adversly to change, feeling the present is optimal. We can look to the future with 

 optimism, but it would help if we can continue to investigate the consequences of the 

 change. I fear that while we will be able to dramatically influence erosion and land loss, 

 vast geomorphic changes nevertheless are taking place. We must probe the consequences 

 of these, which may be profound on a regional scale, insofar as climate, ocean currents, 

 marine fisheries, waterfowl migration, and many other factors are concerned. 



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