Quote:
Originally Posted by Smalls
Last I checked, Sabine does not have as deep a channel as the Calcasieu does, so salinities are not as big an issue there as they are here. I believe to a certain extent that there is still a pretty good natural salinity barrier there. I would have to check that to be sure, though. Either way, the calcasieu ship channel has been dredged since the 40s. Seventy years of dredging and saltwater intrusion requires some form of man-made blockage. Whether it was the best method at the time, is debatable. This was the 80s though. They didn't know the things we know now. There are some reports out there, I would have to pull them up, that show the sabine-calcasieu watershed has some of the highest land loss rates in the coastal zone. Ill have to pull that report and post some figures from it.
Anyway, sorry for hijacking again, MG. Just trying to add to the discussion a little bit. This has actually given me an idea for the future though. May have to run it by you, see what you think of it.
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I don't see any hijack. There is a discussion in our paper about whether our observations of reduced fish condition is more likely due to oyster reductions or saltwater intrusion and/or weir management. We think the evidence points more to oyster reductions, but it is not definitive. A lot of shallow channels can also lead to saltwater intrusion like has occurred to the (formerly) brackish marshes surrounding Terrebonbe Bay. Fortunately, neither Sabine nor Calcasieu has all those shallow channels leading to higher salinity open water. I've seen the reports on the land loss on the Sabine and Calcasieu basins, as well as the conversion of brackish to salt marsh.
So by all means continue contributing to the discussion.