There are not many beaches along Louisiana’s coast accessible to automotive traffic by a public roadway. Grand Isle, Fourchon and the Calcasieu Parish coastline were the only three.
Now we have another, Elmer’s Island, not far from St. Charles Parish, which was served by a private road in the past where a $5 fee was charged to access the area. It is now open to free daytime public use.
Volunteers gathered there Friday and Saturday to plant some 5,000 grass seedlings along the beach which are expected to grow and hold the sand blowing across the beach to form dunes. This will help stabilize the island and stop surges from the Gulf of Mexico which will help protect the Barataria Basin to the north.
The state has reclaimed its ownership of the beach and has executed its power of expropriation of the road as a public need to access the beach, according to Wayne Keller, originally from Norco, who puts out Island Beacon, a Grand Isle newsletter. Louisiana will pay a fair market value when established for the road. Now, the Department of Transportation and Development is under negotiations with Charlie Elmer, owner, to purchase the rest of the island.
The seven-mile stretch of beach and coastal marsh is located just west of Grand Isle between Pass Fourchon and Caminada Pass. It is one of the best fishing spots in the state.
Speckled trout abound in the surf in the spring20and summer and redfish take over in the fall.
Once fully acquired, the island is expected to become a state wildlife refuge available to the public. It will be another great asset for Louisiana, not only for recreation but for developing structures that will help save our coast. .
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