The Next 50 Years

By Kevin Chandler, Communications Coordinator, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign

Last month saw the passage of Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan. This 50-year, $50 billion blueprint for a sustainable coast represents the most ambitious effort yet to tackle Louisiana’s coastal crisis. As the plan moves from ratification to implementation, it remains as important as ever to apprehend just what the plan contains and what it means for Louisiana and the nation.

Over the next several weeks, the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign will explore the hows and whys of the Coastal Master Plan through a series we’re calling “The Next 50 Years.” Some topics include sediment diversions, the Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy and nonstructural protection, community assistance, climate change, project prioritization and funding.

Why address these subjects now? Because now that it’s in place, this document will inform coastal decision making for the next 50 years and beyond.

As always, your feedback is important, and if there are any other aspects of the plan you would like to see addressed, let us know. We will do our best to continue as a resource for restoration. The first post will be tomorrow, with National Wildlife Federation staff scientist Alisha Renfro exploring the role sediment diversions play in the Coastal Master Plan projects. Stay tuned!