Pierre Part, Louisiana the mid-twentieth century. Before the Great Depression, the inhabitants of Pierre Part were fishermen; after the Depression, many men of the town were forced to find work in other fields including logging, levee building, and the growing petroleum industry in Louisiana. Fewer people continue the traditional ways of fishing and living off the land with each generation. Pierre Part experienced flooding when the Morganza Spillway was opened during the 1973 Mississippi River flooding. The people of Pierre Part are predominantly of French ancestry, of families who either came directly from France or those whose came from Canada (Acadia), and before
Morganza to the Gulf benefits to the marshes and wetlands in the Terrebonne Basin. Safe Harbor: Fishermen will no longer have to leave the area in a storm event. A Reconnaissance Study for the Morganza, Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Protection Project was authorized by Congress in 1992. Following completion of this report, the United States Congress authorized a Feasibility Study in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1995 (Public Law 103-316). The Feasibility Study was completed in March 2002 and the Chief of Engineers letter was forwarded to the Secretary of the Army in August 2002 and supplemented in