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 There's a self-defense truism that "the best defense is not to be there" which likely applies in this situation. There's a self-defense truism that "the best defense is not to be there" which likely applies in this situation.
  
-[[https://therevelator.org/moving-levees/|Levee removal]] recognizes that this modern configuration isn't working well for anyone, humans or the species we share our environment with, and seeks to restore rivers to [something closer to their original configuration]([[https://www.knkx.org/environment/2022-04-29/nature-rebounds-on-the-green-river-after-large-levee-removal]]). This can be beneficial in two ways - it allows the river to safely spread into designated areas where it can slow during a flood, and it allows for the restoration of habitats where native species can return and flourish surprisingly quickly.+[[https://therevelator.org/moving-levees/|Levee removal]] recognizes that this modern configuration isn't working well for anyone, humans or the species we share our environment with, and seeks to restore rivers to [[https://www.knkx.org/environment/2022-04-29/nature-rebounds-on-the-green-river-after-large-levee-removal|something closer to their original configuration]]. This can be beneficial in two ways - it allows the river to safely spread into designated areas where it can slow during a flood, and it allows for the restoration of habitats where native species can return and flourish surprisingly quickly.
  
 In this way levee removal is part of a wider rejection of modern human landscapes. Flood- and erosion-mitigation tactics like [[https://www.wired.com/story/los-angeles-just-proved-how-spongy-a-city-can-be/|sponge cities]]), [[beaver_dam_analogs|beaver dam analogs]], and [[rough_mounding|rough mounding]] all focus on restoring or simulating preexisting conditions, and on slowing the movement of water and catching it in place, allowing it to permeate the ground again. And because these are the habitats most native species evolved to find their niche in, it's no surprise that they often start to recover almost as soon as we nudge things back in this direction. In this way levee removal is part of a wider rejection of modern human landscapes. Flood- and erosion-mitigation tactics like [[https://www.wired.com/story/los-angeles-just-proved-how-spongy-a-city-can-be/|sponge cities]]), [[beaver_dam_analogs|beaver dam analogs]], and [[rough_mounding|rough mounding]] all focus on restoring or simulating preexisting conditions, and on slowing the movement of water and catching it in place, allowing it to permeate the ground again. And because these are the habitats most native species evolved to find their niche in, it's no surprise that they often start to recover almost as soon as we nudge things back in this direction.
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 The state of California recently completed [[https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-yolo-bypass-levee-tear-down-19779969.php|this public-private levee removal project]], allowing tidal waters to flow across 3,400 acres of land for the first time in 100 years. This appears to be a mix of flood mitigation and environmental restoration - it provides improved flood protection for the greater Sacramento area by adding more than 40,000 acre-feet of additional flood storage capacity to the Yolo Bypass, but it also restores habitat for native species including salmon and the endangered Delta smelt, and food and habitat for migratory birds who frequently stop in this area. The state of California recently completed [[https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-yolo-bypass-levee-tear-down-19779969.php|this public-private levee removal project]], allowing tidal waters to flow across 3,400 acres of land for the first time in 100 years. This appears to be a mix of flood mitigation and environmental restoration - it provides improved flood protection for the greater Sacramento area by adding more than 40,000 acre-feet of additional flood storage capacity to the Yolo Bypass, but it also restores habitat for native species including salmon and the endangered Delta smelt, and food and habitat for migratory birds who frequently stop in this area.
  
-Levee Removal is often a fraught subject, and [[https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2022/03/24/lafayette-sues-st-martin-over-vermilion-river-spoil-banks-removal/7146795001/|this escalating feud]] between two neighboring communities over a series of makeshift dirt levees they refer to as spoil banks. As best as I can understand/summarize it, this appears to be an argument over who gets flooded, or whether the removal of the levees will actually cause worsened flooding. The levees separated the Vermillion river from neighboring wetlands. One community wanted to remove it, and had studies that showed removing the spoil banks could help drainage throughout the first community by lowering water levels on the Vermilion by almost 8 inches in a 2- to 10-year storm and that removing the spoil banks would have little impact on the overall water level in the Bayou Tortue Swamp during storms because of the massive size of the swampland. The second community disagreed and did their best to prevent any change until the first community purchased some of the land the levees were on and quietly removed them. This began [[https://kpel965.com/josh-guillory-indicted-st-martin-malfeasance/|a large legal battle which is still ongoing]], escalating to criminal charges. +Levee Removal is often a fraught subject, and [[https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2022/03/24/lafayette-sues-st-martin-over-vermilion-river-spoil-banks-removal/7146795001/|this escalating feud]] between two neighboring communities over a series of makeshift dirt levees they refer to as spoil banks seems to be a pretty solid example of that. As best as I can understand/summarize it, this appears to be an argument over who gets flooded, or whether the removal of the levees will actually cause worsened flooding. The levees separated the Vermillion river from neighboring wetlands. One community wanted to remove it, and had studies that showed removing the spoil banks could help drainage throughout the first community by lowering water levels on the Vermilion by almost 8 inches in a 2- to 10-year storm and that removing the spoil banks would have little impact on the overall water level in the Bayou Tortue Swamp during storms because of the massive size of the swampland. The second community disagreed and did their best to prevent any change until the first community purchased some of the land the levees were on and secretly removed them. This began [[https://kpel965.com/josh-guillory-indicted-st-martin-malfeasance/|a large and multifaceted legal battle which is still ongoing]], escalating to criminal charges.