Gathered on a strip of salt marsh bordering the Gulf of Mexico, Tim Carruthers and his team of scientists huddle around a patch of soil marked by protruding PVC pipes.
Pelicans soar overhead and massive ocean-going ships cruise by, heading toward the neighboring oil and gas seaport of Port Fourchon. But Carruthers’ team has their eyes fixed on the ground.
The group works a thick pipe into the soft dirt and releases liquid nitrogen, letting it flow into the ground with a loud hiss. The process results in a long tube of frozen mud — a sample they can take back to the lab.
“What we like to call a sediment popsicle,” said Carruthers, director of coastal ecology at the Water Institute of the Gulf.
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The sediment popsicle is at the center of his research into something hard to see — carbon dioxide.
Water Institute of the Gulf
A Water Institute of the Gulf scientists holds up a so-called “sediment popsicle” — a sample of marsh sediment frozen using liquid nitrogen. The mud layered on top of the white line helps the scientists measure how quickly the marsh accumulates carbon.
Carruthers’ research is part of an effort to understand how big a role Louisiana marshes can play in the fight against climate change. The larger the role, the more money they could be worth.
Marshes can act as“carbon sinks,” or natural spaces that absorb and store more carbon than they release. In fact, coastal wetlands are among the best habitats on Earth at sequestering carbon. Louisiana is rich in them.
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The state holds almost two-thirds of all the carbon stored in coastal marshes along the Gulf Coast. The reason is twofold: Louisiana has far more wetlands than its Gulf neighbors and its soil accumulates carbon at a faster rate.
Louisiana marshes’ knack for capturing carbon could allow the state to eventually create a new market for carbon credits, where companies invest in the restoration of coastal ecosystems as a way to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Carruthers said the arrangement presents the chance for a “triple win:” reducing planet-warming emissions, enhancing knowledge of marshes and creating a new way to fund coastal restoration.
“All of these efforts are trying to see if we can get to a point that it’s financially viable,” he said.
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But the carbon equation for this dynamic habitat is complicated.
Depending on how salty the marsh is, methane-burping bacteria in the soil can thrive, negating some of the carbon stored by marsh grasses and mangroves. The bacteria is less tolerant to salty water, but Carruthers said the salinity of Louisiana marshes can vary widely.
“There are just some uncertainties,” he said. “So we have to make very conservative assumptions.”
The constant flux makes it hard to estimate a marsh’s capacity to store carbon. So far, Carruthers said that’s made selling carbon credits for marshes financially inviable.
Based on current models, Carruthers said a marsh-building project covering almost 3,500 acres would only offer up to $1 million in return over 30 years. To put that into perspective, the state’s largest marsh restoration project — the Upper Barataria Marsh Creation project — was a third of that size and cost $181 million to build.
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Even still, the state and companies continue to be enthusiastic about the market’s potential.
Carruthers’ research is in partnership with Chevron, which owns the strip of land outside of Port Fourchon that hosts his study site.
Chevron environmental geoscientist Cas Bridge said the research presents an exciting opportunity to look into nature-based climate solutions.
“I think there’s this acknowledgment that there’s going to be this sort of an amount of emissions that are hard or impossible to abate, and so that’s where offsets come in,” she said.
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Greater Lafourche Port Commission
A bird’s eye view of Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port situated on the Gulf of Mexico.
Even if carbon credits aren’t in the cards, Bridges said the study is also a way to look at the potential for habitat restoration to increase Port Fourchon’s resiliency against rising sea levels and storms that have grown stronger due to climate change. In a way, a carbon market would be a bonus.
“There is an element of playing the long game,” she said. “And nothing in the research so far indicates that we should stop.”
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Isabel Englehart, a policy advisor for the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, said there has always been uncertainty around how large of a role marshes can play.
She said Carruthers’ research sheds light on one of the state’s most valuable resources. But the extent to which marshes may play a role in the state’s plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 is still a question mark.
“Natural sequestration is not going to be the silver bullet for reducing our statewide emissions,” Englehart said. “But it could be a big part of it.”
Federal immigration authorities are keeping a tight lid on key details as “Catahoula Crunch” closes its first week in southeast Louisiana, Verite writes.
The operation—one of Department of Homeland Security’s largest recent urban crackdowns—began with raids at home-improvement stores and aims for 5,000 arrests, according to plans previously reviewed by the Associated Press. While DHS publicly highlighted arrests of immigrants with violent criminal records, AP data shows fewer than one-third of the 38 detainees in the first two days had prior convictions.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups report widespread fear in Hispanic communities, with residents avoiding hospitals, schools, workplaces and even grocery stores amid sightings of federal agents.
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Business impacts are already visible: restaurants and Hispanic-serving corridors like Broad Street appear unusually quiet, with staff shortages forcing menu cuts and temporary closures. School absenteeism has doubled in Jefferson Parish, and protests have spread across New Orleans and surrounding suburbs as local leaders demand transparency around federal tactics.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana State Police is opening its doors throughout December, hosting open house events aimed at giving potential applicants a closer look at what it takes to become a state trooper.
Troop leaders said the goal is to recruit men and women who are prepared for the demands of the job and committed to serving their communities.
Troop A Public Information Officer Shelby Mayfield said the open houses are designed to make the application process more accessible.
“One of the reasons we generated these open houses was to allow our applicants to come in and get a look inside the troop, meet some state troopers from across the troop area, and ask whatever questions they may have to the recruiters who are present,” Mayfield said.
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Along with information sessions, Mayfield said the events help future applicants better understand the daily responsibilities of law enforcement and the mindset troopers are expected to bring to the job.
“We want to make sure that that trooper knows how important officer safety is,” he said. “But more importantly, we want to make sure they go out there with a pure heart.”
The Louisiana State Police Training Academy is known for its rigorous curriculum that prepares cadets for real-world situations. From crash investigations to communication skills, instructors focus on developing well-rounded troopers who can serve safely and effectively.
Mayfield said applicants must be ready for a variety of interactions, not just emergencies.
“Not everything is going to be a high-intensity, rapidly evolving situation,” he said. “You need to be able to deal with the public to accomplish your job, and that’s why we preach not just getting the job done, but being able to relate to the public so you can meet their needs.”
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The application deadline for Cadet Class 109 is Jan. 6, 2026. Mayfield encourages anyone who feels called to the profession to take the next step.
“If this is something you genuinely have in your heart to do, reach out to somebody when it’s convenient for you,” he said. “Even if you miss a deadline, never give up because it’s never too late.”
Open house events will continue throughout the month at troop locations across Louisiana. More information on Cadet Class 109 and the application process is available on the Louisiana State Police website.
Houma-based Synergy Bank is planning to construct a second Baton Rouge location.
The bank is proposing a roughly 9,200-square-foot branch with a drive-thru on a 1.63-acre tract in the Towne Center Business Park, adjacent to Cadence Bank.
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The Planning Commission is scheduled to review the final development plan at its January meeting. Rusty Bourg, Synergy Bank’s chief operating officer, filed the application. The property is owned by Summa Professional Office Park LLC. According to the development plan, the 9,236-square-foot building would sit on 1.07 acres, leaving about a half-acre of open space.
Formed in 1998 by a group of local business leaders in the Houma-Terrebonne area, Synergy entered the Baton Rouge market in 2023 after acquiring People’s Bank and its branches in Baton Rouge, New Roads, Central and Livonia. The bank’s Baton Rouge location is on Mourning Dove Drive near Jefferson Highway.
The bank also operates six branches in the Houma-Thibodaux area and reported assets of roughly $1.2 billion and deposits of $1 billion as of Sept. 30, according to the FDIC.
