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Callaloo 29.4 (2007) 1496-1503

John & June Lowe
with Charles Henry Rowell

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Figure 1
John Lowe
Photo by Dave Herman, © 2006

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Figure 2
June Lowe
Photo by Dave Herman, © 2006
[End Page 1496]

ROWELL: We always hear a lot of how Hurricane Katrina affected the city and other sites of human habitation. The hurricane must have devastated wildlife in southern Louisiana. Then, too, fishermen must be having major occupational difficulties.

JO. LOWE: Fishing industries especially suffered, not only because the boats were destroyed, but also because the processing plants and the icehouses were also devastated. They have to have ice to chill the shrimp and the fish before shipping it out. The fisheries were almost wiped out. But June knows more about that because she works for the Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. She knows the devastation that was caused not only to the fisheries, but to the wildlife also. A lot of different species were devastated. Of course, they're saying now that we don't have much of a nutria problem anymore because so many of them were killed.

ROWELL: Are nutrias those rat-like animals?

JO. LOWE: Yes, they are rat-like creatures that destroy levees.

JU. LOWE: They were probably drowned in the aftermath of the hurricane. Our department was the lead rescue operation for the State of Louisiana. And they had Mass in Baton Rouge on Sunday afternoon, and then they went into New Orleans starting Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning following the storm. John mentioned the fisheries industries and the wildlife. Louisiana has a lot of wildlife-managed areas that we protect and conserve. Now it's pretty much devastated.

ROWELL: What is the impact of the destruction of wildlife on the State of Louisiana—that is, on its economy?

JU. LOWE: Wildlife and fishing—that's hunting and recreation in Louisiana, and it generates significant revenue in terms of licenses, tourism, and industries that harvest species. [End Page 1497] We're the law enforcement agency for Wildlife and Fisheries for the State of Louisiana. Our department also receives state and federal grants for species protection and for data and other information on different species. The hurricanes had a devastating effect on all these areas.

ROWELL: Do you think that the hurricane might have wiped out some of the species?

JU. LOWE: Oh, no, I'm not sure about that, but obviously huge populations were drowned or washed out to sea in that storm surge with a lot of other kinds of animals, especially the nutrias that John mentioned. We have heard too, that over half the state's alligator population was destroyed, and they have provided significant income for farmers and trappers in terms of meat and hides.

JO. LOWE: Another thing that June's department was hit by was economic. As she mentioned, much of the revenue of her department is generated by hunting and fishing licenses. They're far and fewer now, because the wildlife habitats have been destroyed.

There is an untold story about how her department saved lives after the hurricane. They rescued twenty-four thousand people because they had boats. There was a story in New York Times today, I think, about another unit that saved four or five thousand people. I think it was the coast guard. But the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries actually saved many, many more.

ROWELL: June, will you say more about how your department saved people's lives?

JU. LOWE: We're a big rescue agency that's dedicated to search and rescue throughout Louisiana, especially in boating and wildlife areas. So we had the equipment, the personnel, the training to save lives before and after the hurricane. Fortunately, the state government did activate our department to lead the rescue effort.

ROWELL: Where did they go to first?

JU. LOWE: When Katrina hit, most agency personnel went into Orleans, St. Bernard, and other southern parishes. We have small boats with flat bottoms for rescue. You can't take...

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