Washington Watch for June 22, 2008

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Washington Correspondent
• Published: Jun 22, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Tab Benoit acknowledged last week feeling uncomfortable in the cavernous Senate caucus room with the giant carved granite pillars and crystal chandeliers throwing a yellow light.

It is not a place where you would usually find a Grammy-nominated blues guitarist and singer. But there the Houma resident was, in Washington to give the sermon he’s been preaching around the world about for the last decade: saving the wetlands.

Benoit is hoping his trip last week and maybe a few subsequent visits will put him in touch with powerful members of Congress who can do something about the coastal crisis.

“I’m so glad I came into this building because there are people in here who can do it,” Benoit told a luncheon audience coordinated by the National Wildlife Federation.

“I was told there were important people here, so I’m in the right place,” Benoit said.

Benoit, 40, was born in Baton Rouge, but grew up in the swamps around Houma. He started riding in airplanes with his father before learning to be a pilot himself. Working for an oil company at 17, he flew his Cessna over pipelines through the marshes to spot leaks.
It was from the sky that Benoit first noticed the slow disappearance of the coastline and marsh lands where he lived. He eventually left the oil business to be a musician.

In 2003, Benoit created Voices for the Wetlands, a nonprofit group dedicated to spreading the word about Louisiana’s vanishing coast. He also formed the Voices of the Wetlands All-Stars, a star-studded band that included musicians Dr. John and Cyril Neville.

Then there’s the Voices of the Wetlands annual festival and the Tab Benoit Golf Classic. Benoit’s passion for his cause was noticeable in a 15-minute talk that he delivered seamlessly without notes or a single “uh” or “ah.”

“We can’t afford to lose any piece of this country, none of it is disposable,” Benoit said. “Imagine if someone came in here with an excavator and took an acre of your coast. Take 17 miles off a coast and you’ve wiped out the biggest cities in the country like New York and Boston.”

Benoit was the subject of the 2006 IMAX film called “Hurricane on the Bayou,” which focused on the impact of Louisiana’s vanishing wetlands. The statistics have been repeated so often, they have become a rat-a-tat recitation.

The state has lost coastline the size of Delaware. Every 30 minutes another football field of land disappears. Benoit is clearly in love with his home, evident in the intensity in which he speaks of it.

“You feel the energy that you don’t feel anywhere else,” he said. “But every time I get in my boat, I see more destruction.”

Benoit delivers his message with an unrelenting sense of urgency. Washington has pledged what will eventually be billions of dollars for coastal restoration. And Benoit lauds Gov. Bobby Jindal for recently dedicating $300 million of the state’s budget surplus to the cause.