Elise Plunk

Elise Plunk

[email protected]

Elise Plunk is an environmental reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator and Report for America corps member based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She grew up in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida, where she was a reporter for WUFT news and editor-in-chief of Atrium Magazine. Elise's work is a part of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, which offers free coverage of agriculture, water and environmental issues from a network of reporters centered around the Mississippi River Basin to news outlets across the nation.

Meta data center pollution permit doesn’t account for all its emissions, Sierra Club says 
Louisiana

Meta data center pollution permit doesn’t account for all its emissions, Sierra Club says 

5:00am ET
Elise Plunk
An environmental group argues Louisiana officials did not account for all of the harmful emissions Meta’s data center in Richland Parish will produce when it approved the facility’s Clean Air Act permit revisions in June. In comments submitted Thursday to...
Louisiana moves to set up homelessness courts, with critics saying it won’t help
Louisiana

Louisiana moves to set up homelessness courts, with critics saying it won’t help

Jul 30, 2026
Elise Plunk
Advocates and service providers for the homeless worry a new Louisiana law that criminalizes unauthorized sleeping outdoors will make it even harder for people who struggle to find permanent housing. Act 788, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Metairie, was dubbed...
Are you owed a state tax refund? You can check online.
Louisiana

Are you owed a state tax refund? You can check online.

Jul 27, 2026
Elise Plunk
Individuals and businesses in Louisiana should make sure they’ve received any tax refunds they’re owed from the state before they are declared “unclaimed property,” the state Revenue Department says. Nearly 23,000 Louisiana taxpayers were sent letters informing them they are...
Conservationists worry Endangered Species Act changes could threaten recovery efforts
Louisiana

Conservationists worry Endangered Species Act changes could threaten recovery efforts

Jul 27, 2026
Elise Plunk
The continuous rattle of a red-cockaded woodpecker’s bill against a pine tree used to be a much more common sound throughout Louisiana forests. The plucky bird makes its home by burrowing into the hearts of longleaf pine trees, and the...
Recycled glass and salt-loving bacteria are helping scientists bring back coastal cypress
Louisiana

Recycled glass and salt-loving bacteria are helping scientists bring back coastal cypress

Jul 16, 2026
Elise Plunk
Tulane University researchers and the recycling facility Glass Half Full are using evolutionary relationships between bacteria, fungi and plants to grow cypress and other plant species in glass sand created from recycled bottles. Scientists hope to build back areas of...
LSU Vet Med warns residents to watch for wildlife, pet safety ahead of expected floods
Louisiana

LSU Vet Med warns residents to watch for wildlife, pet safety ahead of expected floods

Jul 14, 2026
Elise Plunk
Ahead of heavy rain expected for parts of southern Louisiana through the end of the week, Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine warns residents to keep pets inside and away from wildlife displaced by flooding. Wildlife can flee from...
$4.2 million in federal dollars to expand weather forecasting, flood warnings in Louisiana
Louisiana

$4.2 million in federal dollars to expand weather forecasting, flood warnings in Louisiana

Jul 13, 2026
Elise Plunk
A weather forecasting and monitoring network housed at the University of Louisiana at Monroe will double its number of forecasting stations across the region with $4.2 million dollars of federal money, the largest federal contract in the university’s history. The...
Parasitic food poisoning illnesses are on the rise in Louisiana
Louisiana

Parasitic food poisoning illnesses are on the rise in Louisiana

Jul 09, 2026
Elise Plunk
The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed 23 cases of Cyclosporiasis infection, a stomach illness caused by a parasite found on contaminated food and water, within the state. This is just above the average of 20 cases reported over the same...
Inside the lab at the heart of Louisiana’s mosquito-borne disease prevention network
Louisiana

Inside the lab at the heart of Louisiana’s mosquito-borne disease prevention network

Jul 09, 2026
Elise Plunk
Hundreds of meticulously labeled vials filled with mosquitos line colorful plastic trays inside a freezer at the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Baton Rouge. Each vial sitting atop the frosty shelves, aligned in rows like egg cartons on a...
Louisiana doubles money available to nonprofits for conservation work
Louisiana

Louisiana doubles money available to nonprofits for conservation work

Jul 06, 2026
Elise Plunk
Louisiana has doubled the state money available for nonprofit groups to preserve and restore public lands of historic, environmental or recreational importance. Louisiana Outdoors Forever was allotted $2 million by the state legislature for the 2027 grant application cycle, which...
Louisiana expands red snapper limits for Fourth of July weekend
Louisiana

Louisiana expands red snapper limits for Fourth of July weekend

Jul 01, 2026
Elise Plunk
State officials will temporarily expand the number of red snapper recreational anglers can take home in Louisiana for the Fourth of July holiday. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will allow those fishing in state coastal waters for red...
Letlow rides Trump endorsement to US Senate GOP ticket win; Davis cinches Democratic bid
Louisiana

Letlow rides Trump endorsement to US Senate GOP ticket win; Davis cinches Democratic bid

Jun 27, 2026
Greg LaRose Wesley Muller Elise Plunk
Congresswoman Julia Letlow will advance to the November general election as the Republican Party nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Louisiana, where she is the odds-on favorite to win. The Associated Press projected Letlow the winner over state Treasurer...