Grounds for Hope
Against a Rising Tide of Loss

Most of those who are familiar with the condition of Louisiana’s coast perceive the situation as dire and believe that the unfolding crisis will dramatically affect the ecology and economy of both the region and the nation. But reasons for hope exist: Across the state and nation there is a growing concern about the problem, and in the wetlands, scientists are developing ways to combat the crisis effectively.

At Stake: A Region and Its Riches

As knowledge about land loss in Louisiana increases, so does understanding of its potential critical impacts. The disappearance of each square foot of wetlands threatens:

• oil and gas production facilities and pipelines that deliver over a quarter of the nation’s energy supplies
• emergency fuel stored in U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites
• shipping and trade through the first, fourth and 10th largest ports in the country, measured by tonnage
• nursery grounds for over 75 percent of the Gulf of Mexico’s commercial and recreational fish species
• fisheries that supply over a quarter of the nation’s seafood
• the natural buffer that mitigates hurricane damage to historic sites and population centers, including the city of New Orleans

Creation of new land continues to occur when riverborne sediment is deposited in coastal wetlands. Green areas on the map above indicate places where water has converted to land in the Atchafalaya River delta.

Ways to Protect and Restore the Wetlands

For more than a decade, CWPPRA-sponsored projects have developed and refined techniques proven effective in combating land loss. Most projects aim to restore and protect coastal wetlands by decreasing erosion, improving soil stability or restoring natural hydrological conditions. Some measures, such as building marsh terraces or planting vegetation, are simple and not expensive to carry out. Others, such as constructing gates on navigation canals or pumping dredged material into the marshes, require more complex engineering and millions of dollars to implement. These restoration techniques are already creating notable areas of new acreage. Diverting river water, trapping nutrients and sediment in structures and vegetation, and using dredged materials to build elevations capable of sustaining plant colonies have all proven successful. In addition, coastal Louisiana is realizing the benefits of strict regulations governing industrial practices. No longer can oil and gas wellheads dump brine directly into the wetlands, nor can new pipeline canals cut through and fragment the marshes.

Effective Efforts Involve Difficult Decisions

Projects scaled to stem Louisiana’s disastrous rate of land loss, however, will change the landscape, cost billions of dollars and affect millions of people. Policymakers, community leaders and other stakeholders confront difficult decisions in undertaking these costly and controversial actions. Among measures being considered are closing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, operating diversions at full capacity, and allowing as much as a third of the Mississippi River to be reintroduced into the wetlands. Although the estimate of $14 billion is but a fraction of the worth of the property, infrastructure and commerce at risk, the price, nonetheless, is far higher than Louisianans alone can shoulder.