One Louisiana legislator is looking to harness some of the fervor generated by threats to Confederate monuments and direct it toward saving the state’s disappearing wetlands by dubbing the coastline after one of the Confederacy’s most notable figures.

State Sen. Norby Chabert has filed SB453, which would officially designate all 397 miles of the state’s southern boundary as the Robert E. Lee Louisiana Gulf Coast.

A Republican representing the rapidly eroding coastal parishes of Terrebonne and Lafourche, the Chauvin native is a champion for preserving and rebuilding the state’s deteriorating wetlands. However, frustrated by the lack of widespread, ardent support for coastal preservation efforts, and inspired by vehement protests against the removal of Confederate statues in New Orleans, Chabert said he decided to author the legislation.

“I’m passionate about saving our vanishing coast, and for years, I’ve been trying to get others to also be passionate about saving it, but without much luck. Most people still seem pretty blasé about this urgent problem,” Chabert told reporters gathered in the State Capitol rotunda. “Then I noticed how so many people get all worked up about preserving things — like monuments and schools — associated with Robert E. Lee. So I figured maybe I could steer that passion about preserving all things General Lee toward preserving Louisiana’s wetlands.”

“They stayed up all night to save a chunk of rock, for Pete’s sake.”

Chabert insisted a candlelight vigil held at the site of the Liberty Place obelisk in New Orleans for several hours before it was removed illustrates the zeal of some Confederate monument preservationists.

“They stayed up all night to save a chunk of rock, for Pete’s sake,” Chabert remarked. “If you have time to hold a vigil to save a piece of stone, you have time to help get the word out about our state losing a football field of land every hour.”

When asked about his personal views on the monuments removal issue, Chabert explained in rather fatalistic terms how their fate pales in comparison that of the Louisiana coast.

“Even if you manage to save some statue in New Orleans, but nobody does anything to save the marshlands that protect us from hurricanes, pretty soon Mother Nature will end up removing that statue, all the other statues, and the rest of the city. And no amount of vigils will change that,” Chabert explained.

He also noted that naming the state’s coast after Lee would be fitting given that “both are synonymous with losing wars of attrition.”