Henderson – At an annual planning meeting of the Atchafalaya Basin Program here last month, local commercial fishermen and the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper complained that illegal development of the Basin is causing a loss of public swampland.

Lodging the protests were Mike Bienvenu and Jody Meche of the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association – West, an organization of commercial fishermen and environmentalists, and Basinkeeper Dean Wilson, who runs one of over 200 programs under the worldwide Waterkeeper Alliance.

The three men protested the idea of an Atchafalaya Basin compartmentalized into scattered remnant swamps surrounded by emerging highland forests.

And they alleged that the benefit to landowners rather than flood control or water quality concerns is the true motivation behind the forces causing the basin to silt up.

“Even a marginal swamp here is better than swamps anywhere else in a U.S..” Wilson told the group.

The meeting was moderated by ABP director Stephen Chustz.