Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom. Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of the Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.

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CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WRDA COMPONENT MORGANZA-TO-THE-GULF, and the HOUMA NAVIGATIONAL CANAL (HNC)

Save Our Wetlands Inc.(SOWL's) message to the good people of Houma Terrebonne Lafourche Parishes. Here are SOWL's conclusions on the Morganza to Gulf of Mexico "Leaky Levee" proposal supported by Corps, State of Louisiana, politicians, oil companies and Terrebonne Lafourche Levee Districts.

RE: Water Resource Development Act(WRDA) - MORGANZA - Terrebonne/Barataria Basin - Houma Navigational Canal (HNC)

The Morganza-to-the-Gulf project was conceived pre-Katrina and Rita, it obviously doesn't contemplate important findings, data, and other analysis from university, state and federal agency, other NGO's and independent sources which expose deep, inherent flaws in the hydrological and economic characterizations upon which the project is based.

The most important lessons which Morganza ignores:

1. LEVEES DON'T WORK - THEY TURN WETLANDS INTO OPEN WATER OUTSIDE AND KILL THE ECOLOGY INSIDE THE LEVEE - see South Lafourche Levee District and every other levee ever built

2. NAVIGATION CANALS KILL PEOPLE - see St. Bernard and Orleans - Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO)

3. PROJECTS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN BY PATRONAGE AND POLITICS, NOT SCIENCE AND COMMUNITY WILL - everyone, in their own experience, in this area can personally relate

4. THE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMY IN THE COMMUNITY IS THE WORKING FAMILY, NOT the OIL & GAS and MARINE TRANSPORTATION - we were here a long time before oil & gas was discovered, we adapted before and we can again

5. FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO HAPPEN, PEOPLE NEED A PLACE TO LIVE - NOT JUST FAB YARDS - inappropriate over-industrialization of the wetlands must stop

6. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "LEAKY LEVEE" - like the unicorn, it simply doesn't exist

7. THE BASIN NEEDS WATER, MORGANZA IS LIKE ADDING GASOLINE TO THE FIRE - our land is above sea-level, why sink it like New Orleans did?

8. MORGANZA IS A REPETITION OF PUMP-and-PAVE POLICIES THAT BEGAT ST. BERNARD AND NEW ORLEANS EAST - a project to spur more development in the wetlands. The main feature of Morganza, the Houma Navigational Canal Lock (HNC), is the perhaps most offensive aspect of the project out of many. It is simply an indefensible boon to the very narrow interests of a few companies which refuse to contemplate **cheaper** and **better** solutions which would affect HNC traffic minimally.

The HNC is half-as-long as the MRGO, but just as destructive. The direct and indirect wetlands and habitat loss due to the HNC is well-documented and publicized - over 25,000 acres have been lost.

Even worse, the HNC cuts both ways. The Timbalier sub-basin, fed by Bayou Terrebonne, supplying the community's most culturally and ecologically sensitive assets (Point-Aux-Chenes and Isle de Jean Charles) and protected wildlife preserves, is the most hydrologically starved sub-basin in Terrebonne and severely pressured by the South Lafourche Levee District. Atchafalaya and Wax Lake Outlet fresh water never gets to Bayou Terrebonne due to the Houma Navigational Canal.

Worse yet, the HNC is a 'triple-whammy' to the sensitive wetlands ecology: salt water intruding up the HNC north of Bayou Grand Calliou doesn't flow back out the HNC - its flows into Bayou Grand Calliou, very efficiently distributing salt-water into the adjacent wetlands. A wholesale replacement of the basin's hydrology by a series of culvert structures is another indefensible aspect of the Morganza. All evidence and previous experience portends a wholesale degradation of the habitat in such scenarios - 275,000 wetlands acres would be sacrificed in lower Terrebonne due to Morganza.

There is no other alternative to save Terrebonne from the destruction suffered by St. Bernard: the Houma Navigational Canal must be closed - to be clear, "dammed with earth" or controlled with multiple floodgates - for any plan for Terrebonne's coastal protection and restoration to be taken seriously.