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N O L A.C O M
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T h u r s d ay, N ov e m b e r 27, 2025
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THE RIVER’S RECKONING
The Bonnet Carre Spillway where it meets the Mississippi River, upriver from New Orleans STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
THE MISSISSIPPI’s RISING PRESSURES
River safety valves have kept Louisiana dry, but that may no longer be enough through it. “We don’t control that Mississippi RivBY MIKE SMITH er,” says the owner of Gautier’s At The Harbor. He adds later: “If it’s not manStaff writer aged correctly, it can be catastrophic.” Gautier went years without oysters Beside the murky waters off Pass Christian, shrimp boats docked in the and only recently began to emerge from distance, David Gautier is worried about that hit to his business. The reason? a threat many miles away that he cannot They were killed off in 2019, the result of high Mississippi River water diverted control. Gautier, 64, runs a seafood business through the Bonnet Carre Spillway near on the waterfront of this historic town New Orleans. The fresh water and nutrient pollution along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But his concern has less to do with his home that eventually inundated the Mississipstate than with neighboring Louisiana pi Sound wreaked havoc on the region’s — or, more precisely, the flow of the ecosystem and tourism industry. It is a water from the mighty river that runs dilemma that is only expected to worsen Last in a series
FEMA changes could impact La. BY MARK BALLARD
“We don’t control that Mississippi River. ... If it’s not managed correctly, it can be catastrophic.” DAVID GAUTIER, owner of Gautier’s At The Harbor in the decades ahead due to projections showing more extreme weather, and its implications range far beyond the Mississippi Coast. A series of giant safety valves along the Mississippi River has helped protect
the New Orleans area from catastrophic flooding for nearly a century. But now there’s a problem — several of them, in fact, and they’re converging all at once. The Mississippi Gulf Coast’s protests over the use of one of those valves, the Bonnet Carre Spillway, have grown louder and led to lawsuits, particularly after record openings in 2019. The Morganza Spillway on the opposite side of the river has been rarely used, but opening it more frequently draws concern from landowners, residents and port operations in its path. If seasonal river flows increase as
ä See RIVER, page 6A
City Park’s new CEO says she has big plans BY JONI HESS
supply-chain issues related to the deadly Nov. 4 UPS flight crash were threatenWeeks before the opening ing to delay delivery. of Celebration in the Oaks, “I’ll run to Home Depot,” New Orleans City Park’s City Park Conservancy CEO flagship winter holiday Rebecca Dietz told her team event, the giant oak tree at while walking through the the center of the Botanical Botanical Gardens earlier Garden was short of lights. this month. She then shifted STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER Park staff who were prep- gears to fundraising. Could Rebecca Dietz was promoted to New Orleans City Park ping for the popular event Conservancy CEO in 2024. had more lights on order, but ä See CITY PARK, page 8A Staff writer
Staff writer
WASHINGTON — The struggle over the federal government’s role when disaster strikes is coming to a head as President Donald Trump grapples with whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency should continue — and in what form. Trump’s Homeland Secretary chief Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, has a dramatically smaller vision of the
ä See FEMA, page 9A
WEATHER HIGH 63 LOW 51 PAGE 8B
Classified ..................11C Comics-Puzzles .. 7C-10C Commentary ................5B Deaths .........................2B
Living............................5C Nation-World................2A Opinion ........................4B Sports ..........................1C
© D. YURMAN 2025
TO OUR READERS Today’s edition was printed early to accommodate readers who want their Thanksgiving edition in advance.you can find complete news and sports coverage online at nola.com.
AVA I L A B L E AT
13TH yEAR, NO. 107