[Image: Marsh Maneuvers]Since 1989, more than 600 high school 4-H students from across Louisiana have had the unforgettable experience of walking in marsh mud, swatting mosquitoes and watching the sunrise over the marsh. This sometimes grueling but rewarding experience also etched in their minds the wonder, complexity, value and productivity of Louisiana’s coastal environment -- also known as America’s Wetlands.
Marsh Maneuvers is an educational program of the LSU AgCenter in cooperation with the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. While the program was held in the Barataria watershed (1993-2003), the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program was a major contributor to this award-winning program. Beginning in 2004, Marsh Maneuvers moved to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, Louisiana. In 2006, America’s Wetlands Campaign sponsored the camps, and in 2007 the La. Department of Natural Resources started a multiyear sponsorship.
With the move to Rockefeller Refuge came a newly updated curriculum that focuses on the marshes of the Chenier Plain ecosystem and the Mermentau and Calcasieu watersheds. Students experience the biological diversity and complexity of this environment by examining the life cycles and habitat requirements of wetland flora and fauna. They participate in evaluating environmental quality through water testing and examining the hydrology of the watershed basins and the coast. Exercises in natural resource management help the students appreciate the difficulty of balancing social needs and environmental consequences. Some of the activities used to illustrate these concepts include fishing, crabbing, cast netting, water chemistry testing, seining, wildlife observation, seafood processing, boating, policy debates and more.
The weeklong camps are held in July. Four sessions are held with students from at least 16 different parishes participating each summer. Parish participation is rotated so that students from all 64 Louisiana parishes have an opportunity to attend every three or four years.
The LSU AgCenter and Sea Grant provide two marine extension agents as instructors and two 4-H agents as chaperones for each camp session. America’s Wetlands Conservation Corps members assist in activities, and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries provides the dormitory facility and boat transportation. Other than transportation to Rockefeller Refuge, there is no charge to the students once they arrive at camp.