A line of development stretches across Southwest Louisiana, where a new law looks to redefine what wetland areas need permitting for development. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator. Aerial support provided by SouthWings.)
Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge, an area of marshland at the eastern edge of New Orleans, is — in biological terms — considered an area full of wetlands.
One of the last remaining marshes around lakes Ponchartrain and Borgne, the wildlife refuge contains estuaries and freshwater lagoons, where young fish, crabs and hundreds of species of birds find safe haven and food. Visitors and locals kayak in the bayous and hike through the marsh, while the city itself enjoys an added layer of flood protection provided by the presence of nearby wetlands…