2015 Brings Momentum for the Louisiana Coast
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By Emily Guidry Schatzel, Senior Communications Manager, Mississippi River Delta Restoration, National Wildlife Federation Louisiana’s Mississippi River Delta is a region in dire need of comprehensive restoration. We all know the harrowing statistic facing coastal Louisiana: every hour, a football field of land vanishes off the coast. According to historical averages, Louisiana loses 16 to 25 square miles per year. The rest of the Gulf, which is in many places still working to rebound economically and ecologically from the 2010 Gulf oil disaster, …
Louisiana’s Gubernatorial Candidates Declare Positions on Key Coastal Restoration Fiscal Issues
Louisiana’s next governor will face two important fiscal issues related to coastal restoration early in his term. The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, in partnership with Coast Builders Coalition, delivered the below letter to both candidates on November 9, in which our groups asked the candidates to provide their positions on how they would handle two key coastal issues once in office. The first question involves the payback of Greater New Orleans Area Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) by …
Join the Nov. 10 #RestoreTheCoast Online Day of Action!
In advance of the general election, on November 10, the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition is hosting a #RestoreTheCoast Online Day of Action to highlight the important role Louisiana’s elected officials play in coastal restoration! Through this nonpartisan, voter education campaign, we are asking Louisianians to sign a pledge committing to vote in the upcoming election and urging state leaders to: be a voice for coastal restoration, protect existing and secure future coastal restoration funding, and support Louisiana’s Coastal …
Coast 2050’s Lasting Impacts on Coastal Restoration
This post is part of a series on early restoration planning in Louisiana. Be sure to check out our previous posts: part one, part two and part three. Since the early 1990’s, the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Preservation, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) has been providing a steady funding stream for Louisiana coastal restoration, averaging about $45 million per year. Yet despite this funding commitment, at the time, there was still a void in actionable, systematic restoration planning for coastal Louisiana. Seeing …
Submit Your Coastal Restoration Questions for Louisiana’s Next Governor!
What coastal restoration questions do you have for Louisiana’s gubernatorial candidates? Now is your chance to ask them! The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition is a sponsor of the upcoming Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) gubernatorial debate on November 10 at 7:00 p.m. Central, and we want to hear from you. Finding solutions to restore Louisiana’s vanishing coast will be high on the list of challenges the next governor will face – a recent survey found 85 percent of voters …
Louisiana Wins!
Louisiana Wins! With a flurry of last minute discussions among members of our campaign, America’s Wetland Foundation, the LA-1 Coalition, and the CPRA Board – we were able to come to an agreement that replaced the original draft resolution that would have diverted coastal restoration money to LA-1, with a resolution directing CPRA staff to develop a prioritization process for coastal infrastructure projects that could spend up to 10% of available funds under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act …
Governor Jindal’s Plan to Redirect Coastal Restoration Funding is Bad for Louisiana
Governor Jindal’s Plan to Redirect Coastal Restoration Funding is Bad for Louisiana Conservation Groups Launch Ad Campaign Opposing Jindal Funding Proposal (New Orleans – Oct. 9, 2015) A coalition of local and national conservation groups will sponsor paid print and online advertisements in newspapers across south Louisiana this weekend opposing Governor Bobby Jindal’s proposal to redirect money from the Coastal Master Plan to fund the elevation of Louisiana Highway 1. The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition – which includes …
CRCL Leads the Largest One-Day Volunteer Restoration Effort to Commemorate Hurricane Rita
By Jimmy Frederick, Communications Director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Ten years ago the beaches of Cameron Parish were under 15 feet of Gulf of Mexico water as Hurricane Rita slammed ashore. Rita was the second major hurricane to hit Coastal Louisiana in less than a month in 2005 and was, in fact, stronger than Hurricane Katrina when it made landfall. The storm surge inundated coastal communities as far inland as Lake Charles and left thousands of homes and businesses …
Conservation Groups Pleased to See Gulf Restoration Efforts Advance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.767.4181, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Conservation Groups Pleased to See Gulf Restoration Efforts Advance NRDA Trustees Release 1,500-Page Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (NEW ORLEANS – October 5, 2015) Today, the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees released …
New report quantifies storm reduction benefits of natural infrastructure and nature-based measures
By Shannon Cunniff, Deputy Director for Water, Environmental Defense Fund Coastal zones are the most densely populated areas in the world. In the U.S., they generate more than 42 percent of the nation’s total economic output. These coastal communities, cities and infrastructure are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rising seas and increased storms, as well as ongoing coastal development, have stripped these natural environments of their innate resilience to storms and flooding, leaving coastlines and the …
MRD Priority Restoration Projects Included in Restore Council's Initial Draft Funded Priorities List
By Helen Rose Patterson, Greater New Orleans Outreach Coordinator, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition Last week, the RESTORE Council completed the last of six public meetings about their draft Initial Funded Priorities List. Restore the Mississippi River Delta staff attended the meeting in New Orleans on the University of New Orleans campus. Justin Ehrenwerth, executive director of the RESTORE Council, provided a brief overview of the Council-selected priority watersheds in the Gulf and a more detailed explanation of the …
Remembering Rita: 10 Years Later
Today, September 24, marks 10 years since Hurricane Rita – the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico – slammed ashore sending a storm surge up to 18 feet in some locations, killing 120 people, damaging areas stretching from Plaquemines to Cameron Parishes and into Texas and causing over $10 billion in damages. Rita demonstrated that the best offense against future storms is strong “Multiple Lines of Defense” that begins with restoring and preserving the wetlands that buffer …
Tagged EconomicsIt's a Marathon, not a sprint: Small steps build lasting momentum for comprehensive restoration
By Estelle Robichaux, Restoration Project Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund and Gaby Garcia, Science Intern, Environmental Defense Fund This post is part of a series on early restoration planning in Louisiana. Be sure to check out parts one and two for more information on previous plans. By the early 1990s, Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis had been studied and documented for more than two decades. Successful establishment of the state-level Office of Coastal Restoration and Management and the Wetlands Trust Fund …
Remembering Rita: Ten Years Later
September 24 marks 10 years since Hurricane Rita – the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico – slammed ashore sending a storm surge up to 18 feet in some locations, killing 120 people, damaging areas stretching from Plaquemines to Cameron Parish and into Texas and causing over $10 billion in damages. Rita demonstrated that the best offense against future storms is strong “Multiple Lines of Defense” that begins with restoring and preserving the wetlands that buffer wind …
Louisiana Needs You: Be An Advocate for Coastal Restoration!
Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis affects us all. Our disappearing coast is an environmental and economic crisis that puts our communities, jobs and way of life at risk. Every hour, our state loses a football field of land. Disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Gulf oil disaster only exacerbate the problem, leaving our homes more vulnerable to storm surge and future disasters. However, there are solutions to address this crisis. Together, we can work to help better …