Doctoral Dissertation Research: Restoration Science and Coastal Ecologies in Southern Louisiana

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Many cities and industrial hubs in the United States are seeking to restore their relationship with coastlines that are rapidly changing as wetlands erode, sea levels rise, and storms increase in intensity. This project asks what coastal citizens value about the American shore in the near future, and how their investments intersect with the long-term goals of ecological restoration science. On the one hand, how do the promises of restoration science affect the way people whose livelihoods depend upon the coast approach their own environmental management practices in the present? On the other hand, what kinds of local histories and epistemological orientations inform the far-future goals of ecological restoration? Situated in southern Louisiana, where state-funded, large-scale infrastructural projects aim to recover lost wetlands and rejuvenate the state's coastal communities, this research will investigate the concept of ecological restoration in Louisiana, asking how the possibility of restoring the Louisiana coast is affecting local expectations of the future environment. Hannah Burnett, under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Masco of the University of Chicago, will explore whether the unprecedented rates of wetland erosion along the Louisiana coast have shaped expectations and behaviors along different temporal scales. In the wake of several largescale disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 BP oil spill, Louisiana has proposed to install several river diversions that will re-route sections of the lower Mississippi River, releasing sediment-rich water across eroding wetlands in order to build new land. These infrastructural projects aim to rebuild Louisiana's rapidly eroding coast by mimicking the natural flood events that slowly accumulate into the state's wetlands. The project described here will take place in the coastal communities in southeastern Louisiana that will be most directly affected by these river diversions. By interviewing local fisherpeople and accompanying them in their daily practices, the researchers propose to shed light on the different cycles that fisherpeople rely upon, examining the moments when these cycles are affected by the longer-term goals of wetland restoration. In addition, the researchers will conduct interviews with restoration scientists, along with archival research, to better understand the history of ecological restoration in Louisiana, the metrics that determine progress towards restoration, and the timescales at which scientists project restoration will be achieved. The project will contribute to debates in anthropology, STS, and disaster science more broadly about environmental change, temporality, human behavior, and coastal ecologies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.