Massive effort to clear bayou here

Last Saturday, The TECHE Project, a local nonprofit group working to raise awareness of the environmental, cultural, historical, and recreational values of Bayou Teche, partnered with ACA/LL Bean, St. Mary Parish Government, Franklin High School, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, US Geological Survey, Bayou Teche Experience, Bayou Teche Brewery and volunteers from Franklin and surrounding areas to remove 6,430 pounds of water hyacinth from the Bayou Teche Paddle Trail in preparation for the fifth annual Tour Du Teche set for this weekend.
Their goal was to get the bayou looking her best for the many racers that come from all over the country to paddle for the Tour du Teche. According to Tour du Teche Board Member Trey Snyder, “The Teche Project’s cleanup crew has always been there for us tirelessly cleaning the bayou for the benefit of the race and the benefit of those who live and use the bayou.”
In 1910, Louisiana Congressman Robert Foligny Broussard, a Democrat from New Iberia, Louisiana introduced H.R. 23261, “to appropriate $250,000 for the importation of useful new animals into the United States.” These “useful new animals” were the hippopotamus and he wanted to introduce them into the swamps and bayous of Louisiana for two important reasons; the first was to solve a critical meat shortage in the United States and the second was to battle the choking invasion of Eichhornia crassipes, commonly called water hyacinth/lilies.
Water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon Basin and is a problem in many water bodies in Africa and North America. The “Hippo Bill” failed to pass by only one vote. Even though the meat shortage has been resolved, the problem of the water hyacinth is still an ecological and recreation problem for the Teche.
While the Hippopotamus is currently on the World Conservation Union “Red List” for its threatened status and this project would not be feasible today, the group pays homage to the historic and forward-thinking concern for invasive plant species with the whimsical name “Operation Hippo.”
The TECHE Project was the recipient of a small grant from the American Canoe Association and L.L. Bean for the mechanical removal of water hyacinth from the Bayou Teche Paddle Trail. The TECHE Project is dedicated to an incremental approach to mechanically remove water hyacinth.
The group consulted with leading experts in invasive plants at the US Geological Survey-National Wetlands Research Center and University of Louisiana at Lafayette to develop an initial plan. This effort is the beginning of a long-term solution they plan to develop in cooperation with community leadership and conservation professionals.
“I have lived on Bayou Teche all of my life and I wanted to give something back to this unique waterway and my community,” said coordinator Dane Thibodeaux. “Volunteering to keep it clean is a great opportunity for those of us who love the Teche to come out and show our gratitude for the beauty that this bayou provides.”
To volunteer or to report on a trash or hyacinth issues on your part of Bayou Teche, contact Dane Thibodeaux at techeproject@gmail.com or visit www.techeproject.org