The Mississippi River Delta and coastal Louisiana provide unique and varied landscapes that offer an array of benefits to Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and the entire nation.
Coastal Louisiana feeds and fuels the country, and its ports connect the United States to the world. Unfortunately, Louisiana’s coastline – including the Mississippi River Delta – is vanishing at an alarming rate. Since the 1930s, about 2,000 square miles of land have turned into open water – an area nearly the size of the state of Delaware.
With the unanimous passage of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, and with significant revenue coming to Louisiana from the BP oil spill settlement and the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, now is the time for state and federal decision makers, business leaders and the public to work together to quickly advance restoration projects.
Without swift, decisive action and bold, large-scale restoration efforts, our coastal land loss crisis will only worsen. Strategic prioritization and efficient implementation of projects can help avoid a future in which our state could lose an additional 2,250 square miles of land over the next 50 years.
Restore the Mississippi River Delta has identified 17 projects in Louisiana’s 2017 Coastal Master Plan that, if prioritized and implemented quickly, will help restore and maintain as much of Louisiana’s coast as possible to achieve a resilient future not only for the people, wildlife and industries of this nationally-significant region.
Featured image courtesy of Restore the Mississippi River Delta.