GRAND ISLE, La. (NOLA.com) A new year means a new list of 52 places to visit, according to the New York Times, and a spot in southeast Louisiana has once again made the list.
But unlike in 2018 when New Orleans was deemed the No. 1 place to visit in the world due to its tricentennial celebration, Grand Isle made the cut for a more morbid reason — it might not be here much longer.
The reason for its uncertain survival? The state’s last inhabited barrier island that stretches seven miles long and on average a half-mile wide faces one of the world’s highest rate of relative sea level rise, according to NYT writer Christopher Hall.
“Does a place appear more hauntingly beautiful when you know it’s disappearing?” Hall asks before diving into why Grand Isle made the 2020 list, which includes such destinations from Washington, D.C., Paris, the Transylvanian Alps in Romania and the tiny mountain country of Lesotho in South Africa.
In his description, Hall lists the beauty of Grand Isle State Park, the plethora of exotic wildlife in the area and the major habitat restoration set to wrap up in February at Queen Bess Island.
He also mentions the area’s reputation as a longtime sport and commercial fishing hub, which includes the annual Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, the oldest fishing tournament in the United States, held each July.
