Dave Martin / AP

A leafless tree stands over graves in the Cheniere Caminada cemetery in Grand Isle, La. Many coastal Louisiana cemeteries are just skeletons of what they used to be.

The Associated Press reports from Leeville, La. — As a young adult, Kathleen Cheramie visited her grandmother's grave in a tree-lined cemetery where white concrete crosses dotted a plot of lush green grass just off Louisiana Highway 1.

Now, the cemetery in Leeville is a skeleton of its former self. The few trees still standing have been killed by saltwater intruding from the Gulf. Their leafless branches are suspended above marsh grass left brown and soggy from saltwater creeping up from beneath the graves.

"It was a beautiful place to visit," said Cheramie, 67, who lives in nearby Golden Meadow. "It hurts to see it now."

Dave Martin / AP

What's left of the old Leeville cemetery is only accessible by boat. Some headstones are barely visible above the water, and waves lap at the bricks and concrete surrounding caskets buried at the site since the late 1800s. Much of the ground has subsided to barely sea level, and during Hurricane Isaac, about seven feet of land washed away in the tidal surge.

Cheramie's small family graveyard is among at least two dozen cemeteries across the southeast Louisiana coast that are rapidly sinking or washing away because of erosion and subsidence accelerated by the tropical punch of storms such as Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Lee and Isaac.

Slideshow: Isaac makes landfall on the US Gulf Coast

Coastal Louisiana has lost about 1,900 square miles of land since the 1930s as canals dug for oil exploration allowed salty water to intrude into marshes and a succession of powerful hurricanes sucked marsh muck that protects populated areas out into the Gulf.

Dave Martin / AP

Windell Curole handles pieces of headstone at his small family cemetery which sits along the bayou near Leeville. Curole said saltwater from the Gulf is causing a crippling subsidence problem.

South Lafourche Levee District General Manager Windell Curole, who also serves on the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said saltwater from the Gulf is causing a crippling subsidence problem.

"We did not bury people in marshes," Curole said. "We buried them on high ground. This was high ground, and now it's subsided to the point of being wetlands and open water." Read the full story.

Editor's note: Images taken on Dec. 29, 2012 and made available to NBC News today.

Dave Martin / AP

Water washes around and against the tombs of those buried in a Leeville, La., cemetery.

Kerry Maloney / AP

Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium employees Katie Smith, left, and Jayme Necaise catch dragonflies at dusk for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La. on Sept. 24.

Kerry Maloney / AP

Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, collects bugs near the bayou for their exhibits, in Des Allemands, La., on Sept. 24.

While most people go inside when the bugs come out, Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium employees and volunteers go in search of the small creatures.

The Associated Press reports-- The trek to the bug-infested bayou area southwest of New Orleans is one they make six to eight nights a year during the warm weather months from May to October. Some of the bugs are raised to exhibit later at the insectarium, while others are shipped to other museums. Much of an insectarium's stock dies in a year or less, so the replenishment missions for local species are essential. Continue reading.

Zach Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the insectarium, prepares and serves dragonflies. "They taste like soft-shelled crab," he says.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press made these Sept. 24 pictures available to NBC News on Oct. 8.

Kerry Maloney / AP

A stink bug rests on the hand of Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, as he and other employees collect bugs for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La, on Sept. 24.

Kerry Maloney / AP

Gordon Matherne checks for new bugs attracted to a sheet with two lights near the bayou with Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium employees as they collect bugs for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La. on Sept. 24.

Kerry Maloney / AP

Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden, holds a dragonfly in his mouth while collecting them for their exhibits, in Des Allemands, La. on Sept. 24. Lemann cooks and serves the dragonflies at the insectarium. "They taste like soft-shelled crab," he says.

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Gerald Herbert / AP

Interstate 10 lies partially submerged by floodwaters in LaPlace, La., Aug. 30, 2012.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Dislodged homes and debris appear on the levee in the community of Braithwaite, La., along the Mississippi River, at left, after Hurricane Isaac, Aug. 30.

Slideshow: Isaac moves inland

A downgraded Isaac floods coastal communities and forces new evacuations, but levees still hold.

Launch slideshow

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Gerald Herbert / AP

People and a dog who were rescued from their flooded homes are loaded into a Louisiana National Guard truck, after Hurricane Isaac made landfall and flooded homes with 10 feet of water in Braithwaite, La., in Plaquemines Parish on Aug. 29.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

People rest in a rescue truck atop a levee next to floodwaters after being rescued in Plaquemines Parish on Aug. 29 in Braithwaite, Louisiana. Dozens were reportedly rescued in the area after levees were overtopped by floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac. Today is the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

David J. Phillip / AP

Carlo Maltese and his dog Pin get off a boat after being rescued from his flooded home as Hurricane Isaac hits Wednesday, Aug. 29 in Braithwaite, La.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Rescue workers look out at floodwaters from a levee on Aug. 29, 2012 in Braithwaite, La . Dozens were reportedly rescued in the area in Plaquemines Parish after levees were overtopped by floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac.

Slideshow: Isaac moves inland

Gerald Herbert / AP

Hurricane Isaac makes second landfall, floods coastal communities, but levees still hold.

Launch slideshow

 From NBC News: New evacuations were ordered Wednesday as slow-moving Hurricane Isaac caused one levee outside New Orleans to overtop and threatened others. Inside New Orleans, levees and pumps were protecting the city from widespread flooding, but Isaac had cut power to a third of Louisiana's households and was expected to lash the state with heavy rain and winds into Friday.

In Plaquemines Parish, the storm surge overtopped an 18-mile stretch of levee that sits eight feet above the Mississippi River. National Guardsmen and residents rescued dozens of people trapped in homes. 

"We have flooding, inundated four-to-nine feet in areas," parish emergency management official Guy Laigast told the Weather Channel. "We've got homes that have been inundated."

"It's piling that water up on the east side of the Mississippi River," he added. "All that water is ponding up in that area, and that's what's causing the overtopping."

The area had been under a mandatory evacuation order, but only half of the 2,000 residents reportedly had left ahead of Isaac's landfall Tuesday. Click here to read the latest reports about Hurricane Isaac.

See a High-Definition image of Hurricane Isaac illuminated by moonlight, captured by satellite.

Slideshow: Isaac moves inland

Eric Gay / AP

Hurricane Isaac makes second landfall, floods coastal communities, but levees still hold.

Launch slideshow

Just after midnight on Aug. 28, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi-NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of Isaac and the cities near the Gulf Coast. The VIIRS “day-night band,” detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. In this case, the clouds of Isaac were lit by moonlight.

NASA Earth Observatory

• Rescues under way as Hurricane Isaac's storm surge overtops Louisiana levee

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Chris Graythen / Getty Images

Matthew Pettus holds a sheet open in the wind on the levee near Lake Pontchatrain as Hurricane Isaac approaches in New Orleans, Aug. 28, 2012.

Miguel Llanos, NBC News  — Hurricane Isaac continued building strength on Tuesday, closing in on New Orleans and the entire Louisiana coast as a slow-moving giant expected to make landfall shortly and then dump up to 20 inches of rain in some spots over two days. Even before landfall, some flooded roads and power outages were reported in Louisiana and Mississippi. Full story…

Chris Graythen / Getty Images

A group of men await Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans, Aug. 28.

Jonathan Bachman / Reuters

Joshua Keegan, 10, left, and Ruffin Henry, 10, play with Scout in a flooded area outside of the levee system along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Isaac approaches New Orleans, Aug. 28.

Dan Anderson / EPA

Andrew Sessoms sit on a park bench at a flooded beach as Hurricane Isaac approaches the Gulf Coast in Waveland, Miss., Aug. 28.

Slideshow: Isaac tracks through the Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Isaac drenches multiple countries as it moves toward Louisiana.

Launch slideshow

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Sean Gardner / Reuters

A local business owner takes down a sign in the French Quarter in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac in New Orleans, La., Aug. 27, 2012.

Slideshow: Isaac tracks through the Gulf of Mexico

Alan Diaz / AP

Tropical Storm Isaac drenches multiple countries as it moves toward Louisiana.

Launch slideshow

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News — Residents in unprotected, low-lying areas outside New Orleans were evacuating Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac grew closer to becoming a hurricane that could make landfall in or near Louisiana almost seven years to the day that Hurricane Katrina struck.

Isaac's wind speed increased to 70 mph, just 4 mph short of a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in a late afternoon update. It also forecast Isaac would reach Category 2 status with 100 mph winds late Tuesday night or early Wednesday. That's a stronger Isaac than forecast earlier Monday. Full story…

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Sean Gardner / Reuters

Members of the City Hall Property Management team board up the outside windows of City Hall in preparation for the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac in New Orleans, La., Aug. 27, 2012. On its current track, Isaac is due to slam into the Gulf Coast anywhere between Fla. and La. by Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Sean Gardner / Reuters

A man walks by a boarded-up business in the French Quarter as business owners prepare for tropical storm Isaac in New Orleans, La., Aug. 27, 2012.

Sean Gardner / Reuters

Rachel Reboir, left, holds up a pair of new shoes as her fellow employee Christy Lorio hangs up plywood on Magazine Street as business owners prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac in New Orleans, La., Aug. 27, 2012.

NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program via AP

While most of the ship's wood has long since disintegrated, the copper that sheathed the hull beneath the waterline is still intact. Leaving behind a copper shell retaining the form of a the ship which sank more than 200 years ago.

NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program via AP

A large cast-iron cannon lies next to an anchor.The wheel to the right of the anchor may be part of the gun carriage.

A newly discovered 200-year-old shipwreck was found 200 miles off the Gulf Coast in more than 4,000 feet of water by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The wooden hull of the ship has nearly disintegrated, but a greenish copper shell that once protected the ship's wood remains behind.

The photos in this blog post were shot on April 26, but made available to msnbc.com today.

Related Link: 200-year-old shipwreck found full of bottles, guns and plates

NOAA Okeanos Explorer via AP

Artifacts from the shipwreck, including ceramic plates, platters, bowls, and bottles, some with the contents still sealed inside sit 4,000 feet underwater in the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA Okeanos Explorer via AP

An anemone lives on top of a musket that lies across a whole group of muskets at the site of well preserved 200-year-old shipwreck discovered about 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Gerald Herbert / AP

Nesting pelicans fly on Cat Island in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La., on April 11, 2012. The island has eroded greatly since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill two years ago.

Associated Press photographer Gerald Herbert says he will never forget what he saw on his first visit to Cat Island, just over a month after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 20, 2010:

Noisy brown pelicans were flying around and swimming in the water, which was carrying waves of newly arrived thick crude. The oil was collecting on the shoreline. Some birds were too coated to fly, looking distressed.

On the lush island rookery, filled with thick mangrove, off-white pelican eggs were smeared with oil from birds sitting on top of them in nests.

I took photographs, documenting the first pelican rookeries affected by the spill. There was a pit in my stomach; I thought this colony may well be doomed.

Gerald Herbert / AP

A pelican sits on the last remaining mangrove remnant on what used to be a small island, as it erodes into the bay next to Cat Island on April 11, 2012.

Herbert decided he had to return to the islands off the coast of Louisiana. A year ago, PhotoBlog published a series of his photographs that showed a dramatically changed ecosystem where land was eroding and vegetation was dead or dying.

Video: Prosecutors preparing criminal charges in BP spill

The photographer made a third visit to Cat Island last week, with the disaster now two years distant but its consequences plain to see. "The deterioration was shocking," he writes:

The island had eroded and was much smaller. What was once mangrove so thick only a bird could enter was now black stumps sticking out of the sand. There were fewer pelicans, and they were nesting on bare earth, exposed to the next storm surge.

As I looked out across the water, I got a sick feeling. I thought this may all be gone soon, only a GPS coordinate in the Gulf and a story about what natural beauty was once here.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Pelicans are seen flying over mangrove isolated in the water near the heavily eroded shoreline of Cat Island on April 11, 2012.

Gerald Herbert / AP

The last remnant of what was a small island near Cat Island is seen as it is eroded by the surf on April 11, 2012.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Keith Gantt feeds abandoned donkeys he recovered, in Athens, La., Friday, March 16, 2012. Prolonged drought in the southern plains coupled with the nation's economic slump has taken a heavy toll on the humble donkey. Across east Texas and north Louisiana, farmers whose grazing land has dried up have sold off herds of cattle, putting livestock-tending donkeys out of work and making it too expensive to keep those bought as pets or for other reasons. In the north Louisiana town of Athens, Keith Gantt, who rounds up loose livestock for the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office, has hundreds of donkeys he can't give away. He's had some for two years.

AP reports:

With pastures withered from a lingering drought, farmers in Texas and northwest Louisiana have abandoned donkeys by the hundreds, turning them into wandering refugees that have severely tested animal rescue groups.

The nation's biggest donkey rescue group says that since March 2011, it has taken in nearly 800 donkeys abandoned in Texas, where ranchers mainly used the animals to guard their herds. Many of the cattle and goats have been sold off, largely because of the drought and the nation's economic slump, putting the donkeys out of a job. Continue reading.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Abandoned donkeys recovered by Keith Gantt and his wife Karla Gantt are seen in Athens, La., Friday, March 16, 2012.

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Not to date myself or anything, but fishing is different than when I was a kid.  Back in the day, fishermen (and women) didn't wear suits covered with sponsor's logos; their boats weren't nearly as fast as today's; and I don't think I ever saw them signing autographs.

Mike Silva / AP

Kevin Combs, of Huntington, Texas, prepares for the start of the Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at the Red River South Marina and Resort in Bossier City, La.

Mike Silva / AP

Edwin Evers signs an autograph at the start of the Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament at the Red River South Marina and Resort in Bossier City, La. on Friday.

Mike Silva / AP

Jeff Kriet, left, talks with Kevin VanDam as they compete in the Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament, Friday.

On the Bassmaster site, angler Michael Iaconelli describes how the pros approach different water conditions: Guys who know how to research old maps and use Google Earth are the ones to watch. They’ll find little backwater places off the beaten path that are running clear and holding feeding bass. They’re also the ones who’ll be fishing out of small boats. This will not be an equal event or be wide open by any means. You’ll know real quick who’s in the hunt and who isn’t.

Are you a fishing fan?  Follow the 2012 Bassmaster Classic Leaderboard

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