02/08/2021
On this date 7 years ago -- with Kristian Gustavson -- we got snowed on later this week not 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in the lower Atchafalaya River basin. Good memories of a great expedition! Whoo-whoop!
The main purpose of the Atchafalaya venture was to illustrate the resiliency of nature and the regenerative abilities of a river. One would be hard pressed to find a river that actually gets cleaner as it flows downstream. This unfortunate reality is why Below the Surface chose to investigate the Atchafalaya River. Not only does water quality appear to improve as the river makes its way through 1.4 million acres of swamp, the Atchafalaya Delta is one of the few areas along the Gulf Coast to be gaining ground. The name of this expedition is based on the ecosystem services provided by the Atchafalaya and it is also based on the progress Below the Surface is making as an organization which was founded in 2008. You can read more about the expedition in this story covered by Steve Chapple in Reader's Digest with photographs by Erika Larsen: http://issuu.com/belowthesurface/docs/riverkeeper
