Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett ruling, the Biden Administration estimated that up to 63% of the nation’s remaining wetland acres could lose federal protections.
Category: Environment
Posted inDown the Drain
For hidden wonders, visit wetlands near you
Learn more about the Mississippi River Basin’s wetlands from coastal Louisiana to the headwaters in Minnesota.
Posted inEnvironment
Despite spotty track record, Venture Global to become picture of new federal “energy dominance”
During a visit to Venture Global’s liquified natural gas plant in Port Sulphur, Gov. Jeff Landry and two members of President Trump’s cabinet told workers that securing U.S. energy dominance would build prosperity and world peace. Critics say that LNG is heading toward a glut, which will prompt prices to drop, leaving communities with little but the pollution left behind.
Posted inOpinion
In this ground, our ancestors were buried.
Our heritage is in this land. We can’t let a multinational corporation desecrate it.
Posted inLens Carnival Edition
The Lens Carnival Edition 2025
Our reporters stayed on their beats, covering how Carnival affects the way New Orleans works – and doesn’t work.
Posted inLens Carnival Edition
Floating an idea: a greener Carnival
Observers say that New Orleans may be seeing a culture shift, toward a more sustainable Carnival. This year, one parade – Krewe of Freret – even banned plastic beads. Key to these efforts is Grounds Krewe, a local nonprofit, which provides local krewes with tens of thousands of environmentally conscious parade-throws — read below for the Top Five sustainable throws!
Posted inEnvironment
Great River Road dropped from consideration as a National Historic Landmark, for now
The head of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the president of St. John Parish said the West Bank is “now open for business.”
Posted inEmbracing our narratives
Thwarted from connecting the Lower 9 to its wetland roots
After Katrina, environmentalists built an overlook on Bayou Bienvenue to give the community access to the wetlands, which had been devastated by salt water from a now-closed canal called MR-GO. Recent construction threatens that key post-Katrina achievement, Arthur Johnson says.
Posted inEmbracing our narratives
Embracing Katrina narratives
After an insinuation made by a Super Bowl planning committee, reporters from The Lens asked Lower 9 residents what Super Bowl visitors should see, plotted the points on a map, and documented the Katrina narratives that go with each landmark.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
St. John the Baptist Parish cleared in First Amendment lawsuit
A jury found that the defendants didn’t violate Joy Banner’s right to free speech or the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. But testimony revealed a hatred the Parish President harbors against the co-founders of The Descendants Project.