The Wild Side for July 5, 2009

• By JOE MACALUSO
• Advocate Outdoors writer
• Published: Jul 5, 2009 - Page: 12C

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Hasn’t this thing with Elmer’s Island gone long enough?

The headstrong folks who’ve run our state through the three administrations have run headlong into a headstrong landowner and we’re paying the price.

To this point, the bottom line is that we have access to this small stretch of coastal beach — and there isn’t a lot of that in our state.

Although the state has promised we’ll have day-only weekend access to Elmer’s beaches for the foreseeable future, there’s no guarantee that Charlie Elmer will sit on his hands and allow the public to access his land.

Elmer took ownership of the property after his brother, Jay, died on the island in 2001. Jay Elmer inherited the land from his father, and Charlie Elmer, Jay’s brother, inherited it from Jay. In 2002, Charlie Elmer locked the fence that blocked the roadway leading to the beaches and other areas in the 1,700 acres he claims to own.

Through the Mike Foster, Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal administrations, state officials at one or another level indicated they tried to buy the island from Charlie Elmer. Elmer’s attorney, Todd Slack, said he’s never seen or heard a firm offer from the state.

In December, Jindal went to Grand Isle to announce that the state claimed ownership of 250 acres of the 1,700-acre island that he said attorneys found was state-owned accreted land.

On Tuesday, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Robert Barham announced the Elmer’s Island roadway would be open to the public for this holiday weekend. That came after more than a month of work by the Department of Transportation and Development on the roadway that runs from La. 1 to the Elmer’s beach.

That day, Barham said he had made an offer for the land. Slack said he had no knowledge of that offer.

OK, so it sounds like this has come down to a verbal “he said-he said” standoff.

It’s safe to write that the problem is the state has had the land appraised and only can offer Elmer that price, and Elmer believes the land is worth more. Yes, we know the law is the law and this law has saved our state countless millions.

But here’s the deal with Elmer’s Island: It sits in a vital place along the La. 1 corridor to Grand Isle. Like every other coastal spot, it needs coastal restoration work, if for no other reason than to preserve the La. 1 roadway. Four hurricanes in the past four years have opened gaps in Elmer’s that threaten La. 1’s integrity.

That’s why opening Elmer’s Island to recreational activities is lagniappe and why the LDWF should be one of several state agencies interested in getting this land in public hands.