Lake Boeuf community wants to have a say in decisions about the lake’s health
The Lafourche Parish Council and community members are seeking a commission to manage the maintenance of Lake Boeuf.
The campground owners asked the Lafourche Parish Council to pass a resolution on Wednesday, July 10, to seek the opinion of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell on whether they could create the Lake Boeuf Game and Fish Commission and how it would interact with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“The lakes have been dying for about seven or eight years,” said Joseph Roberts. He said they want to reverse the trend, “and make everything the way it was when we were kids. We want to leave something for our kids and now my grandkids to go and see it the way it was when we were little.”
Roberts is retired and lives in Thibodaux, but drives to his camp on the lake about two to three times a week. He said he has watched the lake’s vegetation decline over the past decade, and less vegetation means fewer animals, such as ducks.
The Lake Boeuf community was spurred to action last year when vegetation began to grow back. But in June 2023, the lake’s vegetation suddenly died. Roberts said many thought it was due to herbicides sprayed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“The lake looked really healthy, and then of course something happened,” he said. “Some say it was a spray, others say it was this bug. I just can’t imagine them destroying it in a matter of weeks.”
A Facebook group called “Make Lake Boeuf Great Again” was created where supporters shared thoughts and photos on the issue. The group identified elected officials who could make a difference, then organized meetings and shared the elected officials’ email addresses.
The latest posts were about the resolution and its adoption.
According to Michael Coulon, aquatic plant control biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the agency had not sprayed herbicides at the time. The herbicide is known as 2,4-5 and is used to maintain the water hyacinth population. If left unattended, the hyacinths clog the lake and the many waterways connected to it. It was the first year the agency had hired an outside contractor to do the spraying, and according to Coulon, the contractors had not yet begun their work.
“The clear identifying sign was that there was not a single dead hyacinth in the lake,” he said.
Coulon investigated the matter and found that the plant suffering the most from the dieback was the American lotus plant, from which locals like to pick the edible buds. He said that earlier this year a beetle called the American lotus borer had hatched and eaten through much of the plant.
“And this year they are back. I see them everywhere,” said Coulon.
He said he didn’t know if it was the timing of the insects hatching, but: “I’m as sure as I can be that it was.”
He said the agency cannot do much about the bug because it does not spray insecticides on the lake. However, the fight against the water hyacinth is helping the American lotus flower.
The water hyacinth is a major threat to the growth of the lotus. The hyacinth becomes a large mat on the water surface and blocks sunlight for the lotus. If the hyacinth floats around in the lake, it can uproot the lotus.
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