Public Beach Access Blocked By Private Company!

**** Port Fourchon Public Beach ****

The sign says to "Drive Safely" on Louisiana's Free Public Beach! A few yards past this sign, meet Mike:

This is Mr. Mike Scott, turning visitors and vehicles away from the beach. He is a private security guard that works for ET Security, a company in Lockport, La. He is on the road to the beach on high breakwater protected land that the public spent $3 million dollars to rebuild from 1986 to 1993. Hurricane Juan in 1985 and two others that hit the beach hard, Danny and Elena totally washed this area away into the sea.

He is turning away visitors and tells them they are on the private property of Caillouet Land Company, the private company that hired his employer, ET Security, another private company.

This is the high beach area the state/public built on eroded away Gulf of Mexico water bottom. The Greater Lafourche Port Commission does a great job of filling and grading the roads regularly, and patroling this area that fills with campers and motorhomes in the summer, along with thousands of other weekly visitors.

Actually the Caillouet Land Companys remaining low tidal swamp would have continued to wash away between this filled high ground area and the Beautiful Melancon Public Boat Launch/Restroom facility with the Handicapped Fishing Pier.

To see the Fine Public Boat Launch Facility: Click Here!

Everytime this "problem" arises since the Jay Caillouet vague plan unveiling at the Cut Off, La. youth center, I have given out flyers to folks at the beach, and posted them from the boat launch to the beach area. Someone always takes down the ones I posted by the next weekend. To somehow justify their land claim position they quickly point the finger at vandals that drive on the back beach area, and destroy tern nesting areas etc. The security guard directed some people, to use the low back beach access road, this makes everyone drive over the back beach areas that they then claim are being destroyed by vandals. There are thousands of fine folks that enjoy and respect this area, sadly, one near hit tropical storm moves ALL the dunes and destroys everything for nine miles, sometimes repeatedly each summer.

We and other recreational fishermen, also help log stranded and deceased marine mammal tag data with the Audubon Institute, and the NMFS because we cover the beaches weekly, all year long.

We know every bit of the nine mile area's conditions and keep up with the storm devastating and weekly tide/current erosion changes. I have no financial property interest in this area, we love the beach, fishing, camping, swimming, crabbing etc. We share years of weekly fresh fishing photos with currently over 1 million monthly web site hits from local and global visitors, and I am personally responsible for directing thousands of visitors to Lafourche Parish and our fine states resources at no cost. We meet and fish with them weekly. Please accept my sincere apology if you were one of the visitors turned away by these financially motivated people.

Update Letter From Senator Robichaux

Dear Mr. Bertaut

As I am sure you are aware, many visitors to your website have been contacting my office via fax, email and telephone regarding the situation at Fourchon Public Beach. I, too, like many others, am very distressed by the current situation and have done everything possible to remedy the problem. During the most recent legislative session, at the request of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, I introduced a bill that would have given the commission the authority to create a beachfront development district. This would have allowed the Port Commission, in effect, to assume duties relative to the recreational aspects of the port facility and beach area. At the present time the commission's authority does not include these recreational areas.

The bill was advertised in the local newspaper, as required by law for a local bill. The measure passed the Senate with no difficulty. During this time, the Port Commission tried to negotiate a solution to the problem with the commercial landowners, but met with little success. The House Transportation committee, due to massive lobbying by a landowners association never scheduled the bill I introduced for hearing, and some misinformation about the bill's intent. During this time, I arranged a meeting with representatives of the Port Commission, the landowners, and the landowners association. In spite of this effort to reach some sort of compromise, it became clear that there remains a good deal of ill will between the parties. Although I had offered to arrange a follow-up meeting, no one has yet accepted this offer.

At this point in time, due to the nature of the legislative calendar, any decision to allow the Port Commission to create a beachfront development district would be in the hands of the Lafourche Parish Council. A resolution to grant that authority to the Port Commission was presented to the Lafourche Parish Council at a May Public Works Committee Meeting. The resolution passed the committee unanimously. However, when the resolution was presented to the entire council in June, on a motion by Councilman Robert Naquin, seconded by Mr. Daniel Lorraine it was removed from consideration. So, it appears that the situation will remain unresolved for the time being, unless an agreement can be reached by all interested parties. Please feel free to direct any inquiries to the Lafourche Parish Council at 504-446-8427, or to the Greater Lafourche Port Commission at 504-632-6701. When allowed by the legislative calendar, I will be happy to be of assistance in any way if requested to do so by the Port Commission or the Lafourche Parish Council.

Sincerely Yours,

Michael R. Robichaux, M.D.

State Senator, District 20

Senator Mike Robichaux

Phone 504-537-7064 ----------------- Fax 504-537-3803

** Public Access Blocked **

More Beach Reclamation Information and Photos! Click Here!

Visitors on 7 mile closed east end of Fourchon Public Beach!

How to get to the 2 remaining miles of free

public beach access: Click Here!