Expert Diversion Panel: State has all information needed to make decision on advancing diversions
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By: Alisha Renfro, Staff Scientist, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, National Wildlife Federation Sediment diversions are restoration projects that carry sediment and water from the river through a gated structure on the levee into nearby basins, mimicking the way the Mississippi River once built much of southeast Louisiana. This type of project was identified in the 2012 Coastal Master Plan as a vital tool for far-reaching and long-lasting restoration of our coastal wetlands. Four sediment diversion projects from the …
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 …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 28, 2015
Wetlands advocacy group opposes using BP oil-spill fines for La. 1 By Abby Tabor, The Houma Courier. September 26, 2015 “Unless we do everything possible to stop coastal land loss in this state, there will not be a Port Fourchon or Grand Isle,” he said. “This funding source should remain dedicated to its intended purpose, and any attempt to do otherwise would set a bad precedent.” (Read More) State to move forward with Mississippi River diversion plans next month …
It'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 …
Bold Recommendations & Early Citizen Support for Diversions as a Key to Coastal 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 part one for a look back to 1973. In 1988, the Coalition to Restoration Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) released a plan titled Coastal Louisiana: Here today and gone tomorrow? The plan, which was a joint effort by stakeholders and scientists, focuses on the Mississippi River Delta …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 2, 2015
‘Natural’ river diversion at center of coastal restoration conflict (video) *features John Lopez & Theryn Henkel, LPBF By David Hammer, WWL-TV. September 1, 2015 “It was coastal scientist John Lopez of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation who first dubbed this cleft Mardi Gras Pass, and he’s now giving it credit for actually starting the work that Louisiana has yet to muster the resources to pursue.” (Read More) Strategies: Entrepreneurs preventing the next Katrina By Rhonda Abrams, USA Today. August …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 21, 2015
The Next Big One By Chris Mooney, The Washington Post. August 21, 2015 “Louisiana has roughly 5,700 square miles of wetlands. If it keeps losing them at the current rate — estimated at a football field an hour — New Orleans could someday lie right up against the Gulf of Mexico, more exposed than ever to another natural disaster. And Nyman and many other coastal scientists say that wetland-building river diversions like the one at Pass a Loutre — only …
The History of Coastal Restoration in Louisiana: More than 40 years of planning
By Estelle Robichaux, Restoration Project Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund and Gaby Garcia, Science Intern, Environmental Defense Fund The damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in Louisiana’s bird’s foot delta nearly 10 years ago, brought regional and national attention to the state’s dramatic and ongoing coastal land loss crisis. But this crisis, as well as innovative and large-scale solutions to reverse wetland loss, had been studied, discussed and planned by scientists and decision-makers for decades. In a series of …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 10, 2015
How to Save a Sinking Coast? Katrina Created a Laboratory. *features Alisha Renfro, NWF & David Muth, NWF By John Schwartz, The New York Times. August 7, 2015 “The Mississippi River is the lifeline for the crisis we face in coastal Louisiana,” Mr. Kline said. “We can’t just keep throwing money at the problem, dredging and dredging and dredging.” Instead, he added, “we just let the river do the work.” (Read More) In Louisiana, Rebuilding Mother Nature’s Storm Protection: A …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 7, 2015
From the Mississippi to the Ganges, river deltas are in major trouble By Chris Mooney, The Washington Post. August 6, 2015 “Deltas, after all, have been doing their thing for thousands upon thousands of years — flooding, washing in sediment, rebuilding land. But we changed the system — meaning that simply building higher, on sinking land, may not be enough of a sustainable solution.” (Read More) Delta cities, wealthy or not, face rising risk from sinking land By Zachary Tessler, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 5, 2015
Fisherman oppose river diversions to fix Louisiana coast By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press. August 4, 2015 “John Teal, a member of the advisory panel and a wetlands restoration expert with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said diversions must be considered to help save coastal Louisiana from disappearing. “The diversions can slow (the land loss) down,” he said. “They can build land.” (Read More) 2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone ‘above average’ NOAA. August 4, 2015 “Scientists have found this …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 3, 2015
Our Views: ‘The battle over preserving GOMESA is even more vital for those with a long-term commitment to Louisiana’s coastline’ The Advocate. August 2, 2015 “Diversions of Mississippi River water and sediments — the way the Louisiana delta was formed in past ages — have been since the 1920s identified as the way to rebuild significant amounts of coastal marshes, Kline told the Press Club of Baton Rouge. “It is important that the river be a restoration tool as well …
Ten Years after Katrina, What the BP Settlement Means for Louisiana Restoration
By Steve Cochran, Director, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program, Environmental Defense Fund Ten years ago, just after Hurricane Katrina, I was asked to talk to Environmental Defense Fund’s board about the place where I grew up, the New Orleans area that had been hit so hard. I remember two things about that discussion. One was my voice breaking unexpectedly (and embarrassingly) as we talked through pictures of the Katrina aftermath and came across places I intimately knew. As an adult, I …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: July 16, 2015
Louisiana coastal board asks fed approval of 4 projects funded with BP spill fines By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. July 15, 2015 “The state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Wednesday (July 15) asked the U.S. Department of Treasury to approve its plan to spend $39.4 million promised the state from fines related to the BP oil spill on four complex coastal restoration projects.” (Read More) The BP settlement is only a down payment on the massive coastal restoration …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: July 1, 2015
Campaign aides to governor hopeful get a tutorial on Louisiana’s coastal projects *features Cynthia Duet, NAS & David Muth, NWF By Amy Wold, The Advocate. July 1, 2015 “These projects cannot afford to come to a screeching halt or slow down to wait for a new group to catch up,” said Cynthia Duet, deputy director of Audubon Louisiana. “These projects and the 2017 master plan need to continue on a path forward.” (Read More) Sunken city or surging metropolis? 9 …