Louisiana Environmental Action Network

LEAN member and New Orleans photographer Jerry Moran revisited Raccoon Island on August 8, 2010 to find more of the same death and destruction that he found on his visit on July 18, 2010.

Of his July 18, 2010 trip to Raccoon Island Jerry wrote:

"death is everywhere and I mean everywhere, even though visible oil is much less an issue, which concerns me greatly. A lot of the birds that weren't dead, were obviously poisoned, almost acting drunk and dazed. Some were hardly walking, and some were alive, but lying where they will surely expire, some were actually fighting each other for food(surely contaminated).......It is really hard for me to believe that nothing can be done to curb what is no less than the extermination of our beloved state bird, along with thousands of other birds and animals. There are not many times where I have just stopped shooting and left....yesterday was one of those day's."

Of his August 8, 2010 trip to Raccoon Island Jerry wrote:


"The difference this time was that there were not as many (living) birds...... probably at least 60% less but just as much death if not more. Pelicans, Seagulls, Bull Redfish, Drum....you name it it was dead on the beach.  Oil had hit Raccoon Island last week and the island was obviously manicured, BP had set up tents on the 2 adjoining Islands.  All of the boom that was on the island and on top the jetties was gone, and the island was flat where it once had a more natural terrain....two of the pelicans had died very recently, and it was most disturbing that one of them was hooked to a sparkle beatle (a kind of fishing lure) which was tangled in dead mangrove.......I have no doubt that either Wildlife and Fisheries or BP workers had to have seen this Pelican while alive and just left him there to die.  A lot of the dead birds stomach cavaties were open and a brown sludge covered the inside, with the scent of oil."