Latest Mississippi River Delta News: June 3, 2015
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Louisiana coastal authority awards three grants for research on river diversions and soil strength By Amy Wold, The Advocate. June 3, 2015 “The state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has awarded $250,000 in grants addressing river diversions and coastal soils. CPRA and The Water Institute of the Gulf announced Tuesday that although they received 19 applications totaling $1.8 million in research grant requests, there was only money enough to fund three of the applications.” (Read More)
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: May 19, 2015
Where do Louisiana’s four major gubernatorial candidates stand on coastal sediment diversions? By Todd Masson, The Times-Picayune. May 18, 2015 “I’m not at all convinced that it’s an either-or proposition, that you either have to protect the marsh as it is right now or do some diversions to make sure you stop the erosion that we have. The Master Plan that’s in place was very well thought-out. It was driven by science.” (Read More) Thousands living outside floodwalls fight for …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: May 04, 2015
Mississippi River diversion proponents use full-page ad to state their case *features MRD statement, Natalie Peyronnin, EDF, By Amy Wold, The Advocate. May 04, 2015 “A full-page advertisement that ran Sunday in a number of publications in Louisiana, including The Advocate, highlights the need for large, land-building diversions to be built along the Mississippi River as part of the state’s coastal restoration plan. Andy Nyman, a wetland scientist at LSU, said scientists discussed the need to counter misinformation being spread …
In Ads Across State, Leading Wildlife & Fisheries Biologists Endorse Sediment Diversions
By Natalie Peyronnin, Director of Science Policy, Mississippi River Delta Restoration, Environmental Defense Fund Twenty-seven leading wildlife and fisheries biologists and other wetlands professionals are urging Louisiana’s citizens to support the construction of sediment diversions to restore marshes vital for protecting Louisiana’s diminishing coast and the people and wildlife it supports. In full-page ads that will begin appearing in Louisiana media, including the state’s largest newspapers, this Sunday, May 3, the experts write: “Louisiana urgently needs to restore a better …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: April 24, 2015
Early results from study of river sediment show enough to make diversions work By Bob Marhsall, The Lens. April 23, 2015 “Preliminary findings from the first comprehensive study in more than 50 years on the amount of material the river hauls south of New Orleans appear to support the land-building conclusions in the 2012 Master Plan, researchers said in several recent interviews.” (Read More) O’Mara: Five years later, Gulf still waits for real restoration By Collin O’Mara, Houston Chronicle. April …
City of New Orleans Christmas Tree Recycling Program Celebrates 20 Years of Protecting Wetlands
By Samantha Carter, National Wildlife Federation Where does your Christmas tree go when you leave it at the curb? If you participated in the New Orleans tree recycling program this year, then as of April 2nd your tree is now in the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. After your tree was picked up off of the curb in January, it was sorted and bundled by the Department of Sanitation with help from the city’s Office of Coastal and …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 26, 2015
Opposing opinion on river diversions show contentious nature of coastal master plan *features Kim Reyher, CRCL By The Editors, The Lens. March 26, 2015 “The bottom line is this: Sediment diversions are our most powerful tool for coastal restoration. Without sediment diversions, our wetlands will be lost. As we approach the 10th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when so many of us witnessed the devastating results of a withered coastline, it’s time to come together and get to work …
Bayou Bonjour: Caernarvon Diversion Builds Land and Gives Birth to New Bayou
Straddling the border of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in Southeastern Louisiana is the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion built by the Army Corps of Engineers and operated since 1992 to balance water salinity by funneling river water into coastal marshes. Lately, the diversion has had indirect effects that are raising eyebrows among scientists and those seeking to find solutions to address the crisis of Louisiana’s disappearing coast. The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion is creating land at a rapid pace by delivering nutrient-rich river …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 10, 2015
Louisiana congressional delegation fights Obama administration proposal to strip off-shore revenue sharing By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune. March 09, 2015 “Graves said Louisiana and other off-shore producing states have paid an environmental price as a result of oil and gas production that serves the entire United States. It is only appropriate, he said, to provide a share of off-shore revenue sharing for coastal restoration efforts, particularly in Louisiana, which he noted has lost more wetlands than any other state.” (Read …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 5, 2015
The Deepwater Horizon Catastophe 5 Years On By Brett Garling, National Geographic. March 05, 2015 “But the world witnessed Deepwater Horizon. Millions of gallons of oil flooded the Gulf of Mexico everyday — for 87 days. The biggest accidental oil spill ever. Five years later the effects of the Deepwater Horizon blowout still endure.” (Read More) $1 billion cost estimate prompts Louisiana to rethink coastal project By John Snell, WVUE-FOX8. March 04, 2015 “Without widespread use of diversions in the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Feb. 13, 2015
Jindal administration shouldn’t raid coastal trust fund to patch budget: Editorial By The Editorial Board, Times-Picayune. Feb. 13, 2015 “It is significant because it breaks the state’s practice of truly protecting the Coastal Fund from diversions that boost the state general operating budget. The fund sweep would demonstrate that Louisiana is now willing to cross the line to misspend precious, dedicated coastal resources when the budget-going gets tough.” (Read More) Louisiana’s threatened coast is growing patches of new land By …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Feb. 11, 2015
Growing Deltas in Atchafalaya Bay By Adam Voiland, Earth Observatory. Feb. 09, 2015 “If we start diverting significant portions of the water and sediment from the main channel of the Mississippi River into adjacent wetlands, lakes, and bays—as happens now in Atchafalaya Bay—we’ll be taking an important first step toward saving a significant part of Louisiana’s coastal plain.” (Read More) Crude Awakening: HBO report on the lasting effects of the BP oil spill (Video) Vice Media on HBO (Watch video) …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Jan. 26, 2015
In oil spill trial, first BP expert witness to testify about effectiveness of response By Jennifer Larino, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 26, 2015 “BP will call its first witnesses Monday (Jan. 26) as it seeks a penalty lower than the $13.7 billion the federal government wants for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company’s experts will testify to the effectiveness of BP’s effort to minimize the spill’s impact.” (Read More) BP’s finances ‘better today than prior to the oil …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Jan. 22, 2015
Coastal programs to see 5 percent budget cuts in 2015-16, Coastal Authority Executive Director says By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 21, 2015 “Clearly, Louisiana is facing a short-term budgetary crisis, but CPRA is tackling a much more serious long-term crisis,” said a statement released late Wednesday by the Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.” (Read More) In BP oil spill trial, U.S. witnesses to detail …
River diversion model debuted at Plaquemines Parish Orange Festival
By Philip Russo, Outreach Coordinator, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition Land along a river has long been coveted for its agricultural productivity, but few rivers can compete with the mighty Mississippi. With a drainage basin stretching across 31 U.S. states and parts of Canada, it is no surprise that the Mississippi River carries a lot of sediment. Historically, the river would deposit this sediment near its mouth in what is now southeast Louisiana, creating new land. But since leveeing …