Delta Deteriorating?

Russell Ladd is no ordinary sportsman. Besides fishing and duck hunting, he's found a new hobby...documenting the land he loves, the Mobile Delta.

Ladd says, "I love this delta. I love to bass fish and I love to brim fish. I've done it all my life."

He's afraid the Delta he knows is changing for good.
"I'm seeing that we do not have the fishing that we use to have, and it's very unfortunate. I have grandchildren that I would love to see perpetuate the memories that I have.”

Ladd decided to make a documentary called 'Delta Awareness' to highlight the changes.
"Our mission was to show the deterioration of the Delta. And our mission also is to show the folks of Mobile and Baldwin County, and the world what a beautiful place this is."

If you would like to check out the 12 minute documentary, check out this link: Delta Awareness.
Ladd says trees and split grass, important for building the delta, are dying.
"It use to look like a really thick forest, today is looks more like a desert. Also the short grasses have died back. You can see the mud right here, this use to be a split grass bank."
In the documentary, he blames dams for disrupting the delta.
"Due to the dams, over the past 40 or 50 years, they've slowed the flow, and we don't have the fast rise or fast fall with the frequent interchange or fresh and salt water."

Ladd wants the state to comment on what he calls delta deterioration.
"I would like for the Department of Conservation to at least acknowledge it, which they have not done."
Phillip Hinesley with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources watched Ladds' documentary.
Hinesley says, "It was an impressive video. I'm not sure scientifically if it's all correct, but it's certainly an impressive video with all the sites in the delta and the beautiful scenery."
Hinesley doesn't doubt the delta has changed in the last 50 years.
"Anytime you introduce the human element into the environment, there's changes, some good some bad. There's more research that needs to be done before we decide what's causing the problems, if there are indeed problems in the delta."