BP Oil Spill in and around Grand Isle, Louisiana

We spent 2 days in Grand Isle, LA to witness and report on the oil spill affecting the region. I will go into more depth about this in the coming days, but I wanted to share some of the photos I’ve made of the incident. After getting the runaround from BP about media credentials and access, most of which was blocked by hired local sheriffs, we eventually found where the oil actually is, offshore and out of sight. BP has done a great job of cleaning the accessible beaches around Grand Isle and Port Fourchon, and they have a large work force on display, but the reality is that there hasn’t been much oil on Grand Isle since mid-May. The workers walk the beach (in the extremely hot and humid weather), inspecting and moving the clean pom-pom like ‘snare-boom’, while less than a mile off shore, Grand Terre Island with historic Fort Livingston is awash with oil. It became clear during our stay that the cleanup was focused on the areas that people could see.

There’s a flotilla of boats skimming the water, and from what the locals say, most of the oil in the open water is cleaned up fairly quickly. Only being out in a boat for a few hours, the extent of the damage became clear.

Please share this blog with anyone who is concerned about the oil spill.

If you would like to reproduce or use any photos in media, magazines, websites, etc., please contact me:

davidseaver@hotmail.com or 802-355-3728.

Here are some of the photos.

Boom around Bird Island, near Grand Isle, LA.

Birds Island with a large ship housing workers in the background.

Bird Island near Grand Isle, LA is well protected by two layers of boom. Bird Island showed some signs of previous oil, but looked okay. The worry is that a storm surge could swamp the island, covering it with oil and fouling the nesting grounds of thousands of birds.

Brown pelican in flight.

A skimmer ship.

Dolphins swim in Barataria bay. We saw hundreds of dolphins swiming in the bay.

A long row of barges with pumper trucks wait to catch oil and suck it up.

A worker moves a hose on the barges.

A large anchored skimmer ship sits idle.

Oil sheen on the water.

The thick viscous oil has the consistency of warm gooey peanut butter.

The oil.

Kate thoroughly disgusted by the oil floating in the water.

An oil blob near Grand Terre Island. This is approximately 2 feet long.

An oil patch on open water.

A thick patch of oil near Grand Terre, LA.

Oil globs near Grand Terre, LA.

Snails covered in oil. Grand Terre Island.

Oil boom on the rocks of Grand Terre Island.

An oil boom up on the rocks of Grand Terre Island. This should be in the water.

Oil washes up on the rocks on Grand Terre Island. Fort Livingston is in the background.

Thick brown oil in the water.

Thick oil washes up on the rocks of Grand Terre Island.

Oil on the beach and in the grass, Grand Terre Island.

The high tide oil mark on a protective sea wall around Fort Livingston, Grand Terre Island.

Oil stains the brick of historic Fort Livingston on Grand Terre Island.

Oil on marsh grasses, Grand Terre, LA

Close up of the oil.

Oil penetrating the marsh grasses of Grand Terre.

Brown pelicans and sea gulls on bird island.

A porpoise swims near Grand Isle Beach with oil rigs in the background.

Workers gather at a staging area in Grand Isle State Park.

Large booms protect Grand Isle Beach.

Artist Bobby Pitre working on new paintings inspired by the Gulf Oil Spill

These large paintings outside Bobby Pitre’s tattoo parlor in Larouse, LA have gained national attention and landed him in People Magazine.

The much publicized gulf graveyard in Grand Isle, LA

There were many anti-BP signs on Grand Isle. While most people seem concerned with the oil spill, the consensus was more of anger towards President Obama and the government for instituting the 6 month drilling moratorium. Grand Isle and much of Louisiana is supported by the oil industry, either directly working on the rigs or in the myriad of supportive industries that keep our country running.