LA Business Organizations Tout Significant Economic Potential of Coastal Restoration to Gov. Edwards
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.317.2046, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Caitlin Berni, Greater New Orleans, Inc., 504.527.6980, cberni@gnoinc.org Louisiana Business Organizations Tout Significant Economic Potential of Coastal Restoration to Governor John Bel Edwards Groups Urge Edwards to Protect Coastal Funding, Advance Master Plan for Long-term Prosperity …
Tagged EconomicsMardi Gras Pass Showcases the Land-Building Power of the Mississippi River
In a stark contrast to what’s happening across the Louisiana coast, new land is forming along the east bank of the Mississippi River, 35 miles southeast of New Orleans. A new channel was opened between the Mississippi River and Breton Sound through the Bohemia Spillway. This new channel, dubbed Mardi Gras Pass, is the first distributary of the river to develop in decades. During the 1920s, the levees in the area were removed to allow fresh water to overtop the …
330 Groups Call on President Obama to Protect Critical Funding for Coastal Restoration
Gulf of Mexico Energy and Security Act (GOMESA) Provides Crucial Source of Restoration Dollars FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (NEW ORLEANS – March 8, 2016) Today, the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition sent a letter to President Obama signed by 330 groups, ranging from local governments and business and industry to environmental organizations and community groups, in response to his 2017 proposed budget that redirects funds from the Gulf of Mexico Energy and Security Act (GOMESA) away from Gulf Coast restoration. …
MRD Coalition Sends President Obama a Letter Urging for Protection of GOMESA Funding
Today, the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition sent a letter to President Obama signed by 330 groups, ranging from local governments and business and industry to environmental organizations and community groups, in response to his 2017 proposed budget that redirects funds from the Gulf of Mexico Energy and Security Act (GOMESA) away from Gulf Coast restoration. In the letter, the signers urge the President to reconsider, saying the move would weaken Louisiana’s ability to address its severe land loss …
Gulf Restoration Groups Call on Oil Spill Trustees to Run Open Process
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Rachel Guillory, Ocean Conservancy, 504.208.5816, rguillory@oceanconservancy.org Andrew Blejwas, The Nature Conservancy, 617.785.7047, ablejwas@tnc.org Gulf Restoration Groups Call on Oil Spill Trustees to Run Open Process Standard Operating Procedures for Spending $7.1 Billion in Funding Should Engage Public (New Orleans – February 23, 2016) Gulf restoration advocates are calling on federal agencies to increase …
What Can the 1927 Flood Teach Us About Coastal Restoration?
During the historic 1927 flood, a portion of the Mississippi River levee south of New Orleans was dynamited to lower the water level and prevent catastrophic flooding – seen in much of the Mississippi River Basin – from occurring in the city. This explosion created a 2-kilometer wide crevasse, which redirected water into nearby Breton Sound. Nearly 90 years later, scientists have completed measurements in the upper Breton Sound basin to quantify the sediment deposition in the 50-square-mile crevasse splay …
Mississippi River’s High Water Brings (Literally) Tons of Needed Sediment to Louisiana
This is the second in a series of blog posts focusing on the recent opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in response to the Mississippi River high-water event. See the first post on the history of the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) system here. The current high-water event on the Mississippi River is sending more than one million cubic feet of water per second down the lower Mississippi River, carrying with it sediment that is an essential ingredient to restoring Louisiana’s …
Louisiana Releases Draft Annual Plan for Coastal Restoration and Protection
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.317.2046, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Louisiana Releases Draft Annual Plan for Coastal Restoration and Protection Plan Includes CPRA’s Recommendations for Two Sediment Diversions (BATON ROUGE, La. – January 12, 2016) Last week, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) released its …
Heavy Rainfall Activates Early Flood Fight on Lower Mississippi River
As the Mississippi River high water event continues, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will soon open the Bonnet Carré Spillway, and potentially the Morganza Floodway, to help relieve pressure on river levees and prevent catastrophic flooding. During high-water events like this one, the river contains more water and carries more sediment than usual. Without restoration projects like sediment diversions in place to capture sediment, much of this essential component for restoring our coast is lost. In the future, when …
Louisiana Governor-Elect Appoints New Leader for Coastal Restoration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.317.2046, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Louisiana Governor-Elect Appoints New Leader for Coastal Restoration (BATON ROUGE, La. – January 5, 2016) Today, Louisiana Governor-Elect John Bel Edwards announced that Johnny Bradberry is his appointee for Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal …
Funding for Louisiana Coastal Area Program Included in Omnibus Spending Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.317.2046, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Funding for Louisiana Coastal Area Program Included in Omnibus Spending Bill Money Will Help Advance Critical Coastal Restoration Projects (WASHINGTON—Dec. 17, 2015) Yesterday, the U.S. Congress unveiled a year-end spending bill that includes more than $10 …
$52.2 million in oil spill funds approved for Louisiana coastal restoration
Last week, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (RESTORE) Council approved its first Funded Priorities List (FPL) of projects and programs to fund with civil penalties available from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Transocean settlement. This is an important step forward for the entire Gulf Coast that is still recovering from the spill. In particular for the Mississippi River Delta, the FPL demonstrates both the state of Louisiana’s commitment to funding Coastal Master Plan projects with RESTORE dollars and progress in …
RESTORE Council Votes to Approve Priority List of Gulf Restoration Projects for Funding
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RESTORE Council Votes to Approve Priority List of Gulf Restoration Projects for Funding (December 9, 2015 – Biloxi, Miss.) Today, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (RESTORE) Council voted to approve its first Funded Priorities List (FPL) – a compilation of restoration projects the Council will prioritize for funding and implementation following the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. This set of projects will be funded by a portion of RESTORE Act dollars designated for ecosystem restoration from the Transocean …
New sediment counter shows amount of uncaptured sediment passing through LA every second
There’s less sediment moving down the Mississippi River than there used to be. Much of that missing material is trapped behind dams built upriver of Louisiana. Despite the reduction in sediment it carries, the Mississippi is still mighty with approximately 90 million tons of sediment passing the city of Belle Chasse, La. each year1. Tragically, much of that mud and sand will be carried past the sediment-starved wetlands and barrier islands of the delta – where it could have great …
2015 Brings Momentum for the Louisiana Coast
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, …