Louisiana’s moniker of “Sportsman’s Paradise” finds its meaning here in Venice, near the convergence of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, where game fish thrive in a nutrient-heavy estuary. This is where you’d find any immediate devastation from the BP oil spill. The only evidence of a problem on our arrival was a constant flock of airboats carrying orange-vested workers from the marina to shallow areas, where they searched for splotches of oil.

“The media coverage drew quick attention to the potential for big problems, which was necessary,” says Cresson. “But the way it was reported negatively impacted our economy as much as anything.”