225BatonRouge.com

Written mere months before the tragic oil leak in the Gulf, coastal researcher and LSU professor Donald W. Davis’ book Washed Away? The Invisible Peoples of Louisiana’s Wetlands eerily foreshadows the detrimental impact oil drilling has had on local wetlands. Davis first analyzes the canalization process, initiated to transport goods and drain farmlands, and describes how canals have invited salt water into Louisiana’s freshwater marshes and resulted in continual land loss. He then recounts the rise and fall of Louisiana’s lumber industry, which led to the near-deforestation of the wetlands. After recalling the damage inflicted by historical hurricanes Betsy, George, Katrina and Gustav, Davis leaves the reader feeling regret and remorse as he predicts the next tragedy of the wetlands: “These canals are conspicuous reminders of what will happen when South Louisiana’s hydrocarbon resources are depleted.”

But, thankfully, Washed Away? goes beyond research. Davis introduces the “invisible” people who are Louisiana’s wetlands. For the first time, even readers with no emotional attachment to the coastal lands will empathize with the natives whose hard work, strong values and unique cultures have made South Louisiana what it is today. There are the Choctaw Indians who gave us words like “atchafalaya” and “bayou.” The Isleños brought a sense of extended family. The Cajuns will welcome you as one of their own, family or not. Davis tells the colorful stories of each culture that settled in the wrongly nicknamed “No Man’s Land.”

Some may complain it reads like a textbook—it can be a dense read—but Davis does his best to spice things up with fun facts and the occasional joke like his side note on Westwego—“the only town whose name forms a complete sentence.” Another knock on the book: we spotted a number of typos.

Overall, though, this book is an asset to anyone interested in discovering the value not only of our wetlands, but of the peoples who make up the rich culture of South Louisiana. Davis says it best when he concludes, “For too long, the human population of this landscape has been deemed less important than corporate economic concerns.”