Louisiana

One word to describe Louisiana’s rivers would be ‘abundant.’ Wildlife abounds, from ducks to crayfish to furbearers to alligators. Cypress swamps and Spanish moss trailing from tree limbs, vegetation sometimes almost impenetrable. Another word would be ‘mysterious.’ Dark, slow-moving water, fractured moonlight, the eerie sounds of hidden creatures. ‘Culture,’ from the rich Creole culture to Native Americans to the Cajuns, all depending on—prospering from—the fecund waterways. There are many words to describe Louisiana’s rivers, but unfortunately ‘protected’ isn’t one of them—of the approximately 53,622 miles of river in the state, only 19 miles of one river are designated as wild and scenic—less than 4/100ths of 1% of the state’s river miles.