Twilight in the Louisiana delta. (Smithsonian Channel/)
The Smithsonian Channel partnered up with Sitka gear to produce this awesome video on Albertine Kimble, a duck hunter and conservationist from the Plaquimines Parish in Louisiana. The short film follows Kimble through the marsh and highlights one of the major conservation issues facing our country right now—the degradation of delta wetland habitat at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Here’s the oversimplified explanation of the problem: The river has been channelized, which prevents enough freshwater from reaching the marsh. Vegetation dies and gives way to saltwater—a football field of land is lost every hour.
But there is a lot, lot more to the story of Louisiana’s marsh. In the video we also get to see Ryan Lambert, a long-time friend of Outdoor Life and one of the most vocal and knowledgeable conservationists in the region. Deputy editor Gerry Bethge hunted nutria with Lambert earlier this year and shed some light on just one of the many environmental challenges the marsh is facing.
Read Next: Duck Hunting: The Ducks Stop Here
So give this video a watch, it’s worth the 10 minutes of your time just to get to know Kimble, one of the many salt-of-the-earth folks who rely on the natural resources of this region.