Restoring Louisiana's Coastal Zone
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
Louisiana is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, including approximately 40 percent of the coastal wetlands of the lower 48 states. This complex ecosystem of towering bottomland hardwood forests, primeval cypress swamps and broad expanses of marsh is an important and beautiful national treasure.
Yet, this fragile environment is disappearing at an alarming rate. Louisiana has lost up to 40 square miles of marsh a year for several decades - that's 80 percent of the nation's annual coastal wetland loss. Gone are many acres of marsh grass and ancient stands of cypress and tupelo. Gone is much of the nursery habitat for one of America's largest fish and shellfish harvests. Gone also is historic wintering habitat for millions of the continents' migratory ducks and geese. If the current rate of loss is not slowed, by the year 2040 an additional 800,000 acres of wetlands will disappear, and the Louisiana shoreline will advance inland as much as 33 miles in some areas.
This grim scenario prompted Congress to pass the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in 1990. This legislation funds wetland enhancement projects nationwide, designating approximately $35 million annually for work in Louisiana. The state contributes another 25 percent toward the costs of project construction.
The CWPPRA authorizes a task force, composed of representatives from the state and five federal agencies, to develop plans to assess the value of Louisiana's coastal wetlands, determine the complex forces that are destroying them, and propose strategies to counteract those forces in nine hydrologic basins across the coastal zone. The task force works closely with local residents and organizations to determine the environmental needs of each basin.
Using public input and scientific data, the task force annually develops a list of high-priority projects to be constructed. To date, four such priority lists, totaling 66 separate projects and estimated to cost a total of $163 million, have been formulated. Although they involve a variety of techniques, the projects funded by CWPPRA all focus on marsh creation, restoration, protection or enhancement. During their 20-year lives, CWPPRA projects from the four lists approved so far will benefit 64,600 acres of marsh.
Wetlands in their natural state are among the most productive areas on earth, and they are central to the culture and development of south Louisiana. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act provides a substantial federal commitment to help Louisianans save and protect the land beneath their feet. Today's investments and innovations will help preserve and protect our wetlands for generations to come.