Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana speaking to the media during a news conference on Friday in Cocodrie, La., in Terrebonne Parish. (Imani Cheers/NYT Institute)

Visitors to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Cocodrie on Friday received more than an education about the marine research center. They also got to hear the state’s governor explain why they could not go to a popular nearby beach.

As of noon Friday, the almost deserted seven-mile-long Grand Isle beach had been closed by state officials because it was contaminated by oil residue. Now, residents of the coastal parishes are worried the oil could reach more of the coastline in the coming days. Grand Isle is only one of many beaches harmed by the explosion more than a month ago of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

On Friday, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined officials from the Coast Guard and Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet to get a firsthand look at the impact of the oil along the coast in Grand Isle, Elmer’s Island, Thunder Bayou and Fourchon Beach.

From a helicopter, the governor and his group saw miles of oil pooled at a land bridge of sandbags, which the National Guard just completed days ago at Thunder Bayou.

Jindal conducted a series of flyovers of the Gulf region during the week to spread awareness of the results of the Guard’s work, which he called effective. He has called for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval of a state plan to create miles of sand barriers around the coast. So far, that approval has not come. Friday’s flyover and public meeting focused on the impact of the oil-laden water on Terrebonne Parish specifically and served to put public pressure on the Army Corps to approve his request.

Along with the governor, many government agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service, are also pressing the operator of the well, BP, for more assistance in responding to the April 20 explosion and subsequent spill.

On Friday, Jindal and Claudet were joined by State Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, and Capt. Ed Stanton and Lt. Commander Dan Lauer of the Coast Guard.

The governor said that his office has asked BP to drop more boom, a type of material that is laid across a water body to collect and contain the oil residue. “Certainly boom is only one tool in our toolbox, but we need more boom,” the governor said. Terrebonne Parish has received 76,667 pounds of hard boom and only half of it has been dropped on the coast.

BP has been using several methods to collect the oil or contain it, as well as seeking to plug the leaking well entirely. None has been entirely effectively to date. For the past two weeks, BP has provided a live video feed to state and federal government entities that has been widely shown on media outlets.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has estimated that approximately 54 miles of Louisiana shoreline has been impacted by oil to date. Residents of the nine parishes along the coast, fishermen and many businesses that rely heavily on Louisiana maritime have seen their livelihoods jeopardized by the spill.

On Friday, the Department of Environmental Quality confirmed that oil has been seen on the barrier islands of Chandeleur, Whiskey, Raccoon and South Pass, as well as the Pass A Loutre area in Plaquemines Parish.

In his remarks following his flyover tour, Jindal stressed the urgency for dispersing additional boom and creating more land bridges with sandbags for the remaining shores of Terrebonne Parish as well as other sensitive areas in danger of contamination. He also stressed the need for approval of the emergency permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would allow for the construction of more sand barriers.

According to the governor, 425 sandbags have been dropped onto Pelican Island by the National Guard as of this morning, filling gaps in coastal barrier islands with rock and sand. More than 2,500 cubic yards of rock and sand have been placed at a 420-foot gap near Thunder Bayou. Jindal pointed to this work as evidence of the need for federal approval of more sand buildup.

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