From the air, it’s easy to see the patchwork layout. Hurricanes, especially Rita, which hit in 2005, and 2008’s Ike, tore up acres upon acres in the sanctuary, leaving behind ponds connected to waterways and isolated areas of open water where tall cane, spike rush, and grasses once stood. There is serious erosion in the sanctuary, and the caretakers worry that it may get worse, but Westphal is using a novel technique to combat it: dredging. The capricious elements and relentless critters are a normal part of Westphal’s days in Rainey, where she’s worked for months now, helping to restore the marshlands. Westphal, the Atchafalaya basin program manager, which is part of Audubon’s Louisiana Coastal Initiative, routinely chases away alligators while getting caked with mud and bitten by hordes of mosquitoes as she works at the Paul J.
“We can only get in and out of the site by boat, so I’m stuck here right now,” she explained as the rain poured down. Karen Westphal was stranded, sitting in the middle of a marsh in southwestern Louisiana, waiting for the weather to behave.
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