In April 2017, in testimony before a House committee, Barham, as state parks director, termed Louisiana "the trashiest state in the nation. We should hang our heads in shame when Arkansas and Mississippi are cleaner than Louisiana," Barham said. Subsequently, state Representative Stuart Bishop of Lafayette introduced legislation, approved by the House Education Committee, to require public schools to add litter prevention and awareness instruction for pupils in kindergarten to fifth grade. "I grew up on Bayou Teche, and it's filthy; I live half a mile from the Vermilion River, and it's filthy. It's a travesty what we are doing to our state. I'm tired of seeing cans and bottles floating down our bayous," Bishop said in plugging for his bill.