Baton Rouge, La-- As part of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the Coastal Protection and Authority will soon take public comment on the draft 50 year plan to protect and restore Louisiana's coast, in accordance with Louisiana Legislative Act 8 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2005. 

Act 8 mandates CPRA provide an update to the Master Plan every five years, to take maximum advantage of new science, innovation and lessons learned.  At public meetings in January, CPRA will present the state's most up-to-date information on future land change and flood risk, as well as the best investments the state can make to create a more sustainable coast now and in the future. Feedback will be used in the development of the final master plan, due to the Louisiana Legislature this spring. 

For more information on the 2017 Draft Coastal Master Plan, please

CPRA is also required to update their Annual Plan.  This annual spending plan provides more information about near-term projects, anticipated revenue sources, and exp e cted funding allocations over the next three  years. For more information on the FY 2018 Draft Annual Plan, please visit http://coastal.la.gov/a-common-vision/annualplan/  or contact chuck.perrodin@la.gov

 

Lake Charles January 17, 2017 Lake Charles Civic Center Jean Lafitte Room 900 Lakeshore Drive	New Orleans January 18, 2017 Port of New Orleans Auditorium 1350 Port of New Orleans Place
Houma January 24, 2017 Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center Pelican Room 346 Civic Center Boulevard	Mandeville January 25, 2017 David C. Treen Instructional Technology Center - Conference Center 2024 Livingston Street

 

All four public meetings will include:

   

CPRA wants to hear from you!

Galliano, La-- On one of most beautiful days all year, Restore or Retreat hosted a flyover for critical coastal stakeholders.  

 

ROR has been working with a fellow non-profit organization, SouthWings, to provide the impressive birds' eye view of our disappearing coast.  Past flights have departed from New Orleans' Lakefront Airport and have included views of the Mississippi River, Birds' Foot Delta, and protection systems surrounding New Orleans, as well as the Davis Pond freshwater diversion in St. Charles Parish. 

 

The late November flyover took a different route, however.  The group departed from the South Lafourche Leonard Miller Airport, which was acquired by the Greater Lafourche Port Commission in 2001. 

 

Louisiana Senate Natural Resources Chairman Norby Chabert was joined Representatives Stuart Bishop and Chris Leopold, chair and vice-chair of the House Natural Resources Committee respectively.  Representative Jerome Zeringue served as a co-host and guide for the day, which also included a beach and waterfront tour of Port Fourchon.  The group was briefed by Simone Maloz of ROR and David Muth of Restore the Mississippi River Delta prior to their departure on the flight route, which included 24 critical projects in the State's Master Plan, and also previewed projects and scenarios that might be included in the State's impending 2017 revision to the Master Plan. 

Tanner Johnson, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund Director for Louisiana and Texas, also joined the group for the day.  NFWF directs the Gulf's criminal fines from the Deepwater Horizon incident, and had previously awarded over $140 million to the State for Caminada Headland and Beach Restoration, which was part of the flyover.   NFWF also recently announced an additional award to five additional Louisiana projects totaling more than $245 million to CPRA, including the Increase Atchafalaya into Terrebonne project which was a flyover point. 

 

"Even though we live and work here every day, the flyover offered a great perspective of our coast.   We lose sight of the vulnerable of our coastal communities and the significance of our land loss. However, it is encouraging to see projects constructed and the land building potential of the Atchafalaya and the Mississippi Rivers. I am glad I had the opportunity to share with my colleagues all of the challenges, and opportunities, we have in front of us," said Representative Zeringue.