Coastal Latest & Greatest: Answering What, When and How
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A weekly round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration 1) What is “scoping” anyways? Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers released the scoping report for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Scoping is the first step in developing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which analyzes the potential effects of a project. This report contains all of the public comments submitted during the 60-day comment period. According to Mark Schleifstein’s recent Times-Picayune piece, “Public wants Army Corps to look at Mid-Barataria diversion …
Coastal Latest & Greatest: 3 Things to Distract You from the Cold
A WEEKLY ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S NEW IN LOUISIANA COASTAL RESTORATION 1) Eat Alligator. Restore the Coast. “The American alligator has been so protected, it’s now over-populated,” said chef Nathan Richard in Jenny Adam’s recent Mic article, “Eating alligator in New Orleans could help save the wetlands of Louisiana.” Chef Richard is one of the pivotal Louisiana chefs that is passionate about sustainable seafood and restoring our coast. Last year, we held and event with chef Isaac Toups who gave an …
Coastal Latest & Greatest: 3 Ways Louisiana is Fighting Land Loss
A weekly round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration 1) Mr. Cochran Goes to Washington. In his opinion piece, “It’s time to invest in our nation’s coastal infrastructure,” published in The Hill today, our Campaign Director, Steve Cochran, offers suggestions from decades of experience in Louisiana for use in coastal cities throughout the nation. Steve writes, “In Louisiana, rather than pitting gray vs. green infrastructure, we’ve pursued the integration and utilization of all infrastructure types for maximum, sustainable benefits …
Coastal Latest & Greatest: 3 Things You Don’t Want to Miss
A weekly round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration 1) The Times Picayune published an opinion piece, “This was the year Louisiana started taking back our coast” by our Campaign Director, Steve Cochran. In it, he discusses progress made on the coast in 2017, particularly Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and LA SAFE (Louisiana Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments), and opportunities that exist going forward to build on this progress. Writes Steve, “Ultimately, it will be this combination of science-based coastal restoration projects and planning around the …
Getting Down to Basics: The Environmental Impact Statement Process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion
As CPRA advances the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion and other priority projects toward construction, Restore the Mississippi River Delta staff experts will aim to give you updates on key steps of the process. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion aims to be “the first controlled sediment diversion reconnecting the Mississippi river with its delta,” Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) indicated in a recent press release, and, recently, there have been some important developments toward that end. In March, CPRA announced that …
Welcome to the New and Improved MississippiRiverDelta.org!
Over the last several months, we’ve been hard at work tidying and sprucing up our website to provide you with a more visual, engaging and clear resource to learn about the importance of the Mississippi River Delta and the work our organizations are doing to help restore it. In tackling the redesign, our goal was to showcase the current land loss crisis facing our state, the solutions available to address it and provide you with options for how you can …
New Poll Shows Majority of Louisianians View Coastal Land Loss as a “Crisis”
Majority say coastal wetlands are important to them personally, support the state’s Coastal Master Plan (NEW ORLEANS – Jan. 11, 2017) Statewide, 93 percent of Louisiana voters say that protecting Louisiana’s coastal wetlands needs attention with 56 percent calling this issue a “crisis,” according to a new poll released today. Additionally, an overwhelming 95 percent of Louisiana voters say Louisiana’s coastal areas and wetlands are important to them personally, with 73 percent saying they are “very important.” A substantial majority …
Louisiana Releases Draft 2017 Coastal Master Plan to Meet Challenges of Land Loss
Conservation groups stress need to act with urgency, leverage most powerful restoration projects (NEW ORLEANS – January 3, 2017) This morning, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) released its draft 2017 Coastal Master Plan that, if approved, will serve as the blueprint for the state’s coastal restoration and protection activities over the next 50 years. CPRA is legally required to update its master plan every five years to account for the best available science. This update builds on prior …
RESTORE Council Meets to Approve Key Comprehensive Plan
Experts from national conservation groups working on Gulf restoration available for interviews (New Orleans, LA – December 16, 2016) Today, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (RESTORE) Council approved its updated Comprehensive Plan to restore Gulf Coast ecosystems and their natural resource dependent economies following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. The plan will serve as the guide for spending more than three billion dollars in restoration and recovery funds — an integral component of one of the largest ecosystem restoration …
New Analysis Outlines Substantial Coastal Restoration Cost-Savings Opportunities
Executing marsh creation sooner and leveraging bonding can save hundreds of millions of dollars (Baton Rouge, LA – December 13, 2016) Earlier today, Coast Builders Coalition in conjunction with Restore the Mississippi River Delta released a new analysis prepared by The Water Institute of the Gulf (the Institute) that outlines opportunities for the state of Louisiana to achieve substantial cost savings as it advances its 50-year, $50-billion Coastal Master Plan. The analysis, “Changing Restoration Costs,” examines the opportunities that exist …
Coastal Crisis, Conflicting Ideas: How a Complex Restoration Plan Found Success
This blog originally appeared on EDF Voices. Delta systems such as coastal Louisiana are beautiful and unique intersections of communities, ecosystems and industry. But the wide variety of interests in these areas can also lead to discord as we plan for the future of our often-vulnerable coastal regions. As complex restoration projects are implemented, how do we balance the needs of the ecosystem and communities? How do we reduce negative impacts to fisheries and industry, and make sure certain wildlife won’t …
Job Opening: Digital Marketing & Communications Associate
The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition is hiring a full-time Digital Marketing and Communications Associate based in its New Orleans, LA office. Overview: The Digital Marketing and Communications Associate will leverage online engagement strategies to raise awareness and build support for restoration of the Mississippi River Delta on behalf of National Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund, and National Wildlife Federation, as well as in collaboration with regional partners Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. S/He …
Tagged EconomicsLatest Mississippi River Delta news: Feb. 3, 2016
TV cooking show to spotlight area wetlands’ plight By Meredith Burns, Houma Courier. Feb. 2, 2016. “Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program staff will show off some of the area’s best seafood on an episode of the TV show “Flip My Food” airing this week…” (read more)
Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Feb. 2, 2016
7 Louisiana coastal restoration projects gain new approvals By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. Feb. 1, 2016. “A federal-state coastal restoration task force has ordered design work to begin on five new restoration projects and a restoration demonstration. It also OK’d the start of construction on two existing projects…” (read more) Final bays on Bonnet Carre Spillway closed Monday as Mississippi River level slowly falls By Amy Wold, The Advocate. Feb. 1, 2016. “The last 24 bays at the Bonnet Carre …
Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Feb. 1, 2016
How long will Lake Pontchartrain stay dirty? By Todd Masson, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 28, 2016. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to complete the task of closing the bays in the Bonnet Carre Spillway next week, but that won’t immediately alter the hydrological makeup of Lake Pontchartrain…” (read more) Did spillway opening push speckled trout out of Lake Pontchartrain? By Todd Masson, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 28, 2016. “Salinity isn’t terribly important to speckled trout this time of year, but …