No time to lose...

An ecosystem of enormous national 

significance is vanishing into the 

Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate. 

In the past century, Louisiana has 

lost more than one million acres from 

its coast. Every 42 minutes one acre, 

an area roughly the size of a football 

field, vanishes. With every acre lost, 

an essential habitat moves closer 

to extinction. Billions of dollars 

in seafood production, oil and gas 

revenue, and commercial shipping 

will be lost without Louisiana's 

coastal wetlands, which provide the 

basis and support for these critically 

important national industries. In 

terms of human life and culture, the 

value of these wetlands is beyond 

estimation.

As this land disappears, tropical 

storms and hurricanes like Katrina 

and Rita strike populated areas with 

greater force and bring devastation 

to the many people and businesses 

that live and depend on 

this valuable region. 

Healthy marsh provides 

a buffer to these storms, 

and the wetlands’ 

ability to absorb high 

water and to slow 

strong winds is key to 

the survival of coastal 

communities. Every 

year, as wetlands lose 

ground, these forces 

hit harder and closer to 

home.

No time to lose... Turning

Tide the

The fight to keep

coastal Louisiana

on the map

Implementation of the CWPPRA program is managed through a federal-state partnership 

comprised of:

* State of Louisiana, Governor’s Office

* U.S. Department of the Army - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans

* U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 6

* U.S. Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

* U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service

* U.S. Department of Commerce - NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources is the local cost-share partner.

What can YOU do?

Whether you live near the coast or far away in a major 

metropolitan city, Louisiana’s coastal wetland loss affects you. 

From the gas you put in your car, the fuel that heats your home, 

and the seafood supplied to restaurants and grocery stores, 

Louisiana’s coastal riches are valued and enjoyed nationwide. 

Public participation is vital to help turn the tide on this national 

crisis. Everyone is encouraged to take part in the planning, 

protection and restoration of our nation’s coastal wetlands.

Here are a few things you can do to address our nation’s wetland 

loss crisis, and help “Turn the Tide!” 

* Attend CWPPRA public meetings

* Attend Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority 

(CPRA) meetings

* Subscribe to WaterMarks

(CWPPRA’s news and information publication)

* Subscribe to the Breaux Act Newsflash (www.LaCoast.gov)

* Study coastal wetland loss and restoration issues

* Become a coastal restoration volunteer

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION AT:

www.LaCoast.gov or (337) 266-8623

What can YOU do?

For more information on Louisiana’s

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act

(CWPPRA) visit us at:

www.LaCoast.gov

Front and Back Cover Photos: Guy Fanguy

Photo: USACE More than 1,900 square miles of Louisiana’s 

coastal wetlands have disappeared into the sea.

Storm surge from Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) devastated the town of 

Buras, Louisiana. The Buras water tower was completely destroyed.

Approach to the task...

Each year CWPPRA has four regional planning teams that 

meet and accept projects nominated by the public, or various 

civic and nonprofit organizations. A coast-wide planning team 

then selects up to 20 projects and six demonstration projects 

from the nominated list. In the next step, 10 candidate projects 

and three demonstration projects are selected for more detailed 

assessments. Work groups evaluate aspects such as costs, need, 

feasibility and overall benefit for each project. The Technical 

Committee then conducts public hearings to release findings and 

receive comments about these candidate projects. The Technical 

Committee recommends up to four of the 10 candidate projects 

(and may also recommend demonstration projects). Lastly, the 

CWPPRA Task Force selects projects to receive funding.

Based on careful assessment and consideration, the CWPPRA 

Task Force selects projects that apply different methods to 

combat the wetland loss crisis. Some projects redirect fresh 

water into marshes suffering from saltwater intrusion. Others 

protect the coast with rock dikes or with improvements to 

barrier islands, thereby slowing wave action against the shore. 

Additional projects involve depositing dredged soil into 

marshes. Several projects include planting new vegetation 

using species that are proven to thrive in marsh conditions.

The practical hands-on work of rebuilding a rapidly changing 

landscape is in itself a changing process. To effectively manage 

coastal restoration, intervention strategies must adapt to a 

growing body of scientific knowledge and evolving restoration 

techniques. As a result, consensus building and a comprehensive 

 the CWPPRA program, are restoration plan, both goals of

needed to achieve success.

CWPPRA projects have benefited the coast while creating a 

real-world framework for restoration research and technology. 

Although successful, CWPPRA is only part of the solution. To 

meet the challenge of reversing land loss, established techniques 

and project scale must go to the next level. The catastrophic 

level of wetland loss in Louisiana requires both landscape-scale 

restoration and greater stakeholder involvement in reaching a 

common goal: a sustainable coastal Louisiana. CWPPRA has 

taken the first steps in achieving this goal, and is continuing to 

provide the necessary framework and immediate response to 

address Louisiana’s coastal crisis.

Approach to the task... A multifaceted problem...

Louisiana’s land loss problem is 

multifaceted, but both human and 

natural factors have contributed to 

this crisis. The Mississippi River 

levee system, built after the Great 

Flood of 1927 to contain high water, 

significantly contributed to the 

problem. The levee system, while 

protecting communities from high 

waters, disrupted the natural aquatic 

flow, drainage, and sedimentation of 

the wetland hydrology. Construction 

of canals and waterways for the oil 

and gas industry further weakened 

the integrity of these wetlands. 

In addition, natural processes 

compounded the problem as 

storms, rising sea level, erosion, 

and subsidence (compacting of the 

soil) have all taken a toll on coastal 

Louisiana.

For centuries, periodic overflow of the Mississippi River helped 

through sedimentation, a natural build the Louisiana coast 

land-building process that offsets erosion and subsidence. 

Fresh river water delivered essential sediment and nutrients to 

marshes. When the levees became an obstacle to fresh water 

and sediment flow, wetlands no longer received the nourishment 

necessary to remain healthy and offset natural deterioration. 

 commercial waterways dissected Furthermore, as canals and

 and kill existing began to intrude upon the wetlands, salt water 

 of these plants holds freshwater vegetation. The root systems

 As salt water it, the land crumbles. land in place; without 

 dies and the process, seeps into freshwater areas, vegetation

 repeat itself. Combined steadily moving inland, continues to

 the Mississippi River, the with reduced freshwater inflow from

result is a starving ecosystem under attack.

The cost of no action...

When close to 2,000 square miles of land disappear from the 

economic and organic infrastructure of our state and nation, a 

natural disaster becomes a national crisis. In Louisiana, an entire 

ecosystem is at a cross-roads between collapse and preservation.

Between the two extremes - collapse and preservation - lies a 

natural world that supports almost one-fourth of the domestic oil 

and gas production, and the largest seafood harvest in the lower 

48 states. Wetlands protect one of the largest shipping and fuel 

production corridors in the U.S. from hurricanes and open sea 

conditions. Just one of Louisiana’s major ports receives about 

a million barrels of oil every day--roughly 13 percent of the 

nation’s foreign oil supply.

In 2005, shutdowns due 

to hurricanes Katrina 

and Rita exposed the 

dependence of our nation 

on the Gulf region’s oil, 

gas, fuel and shipping 

infrastructure. Costs of 

one billion dollars per day 

were experienced by the 

American public, as oil 

and gas was undeliverable 

through south Louisiana 

immediately following 

the storms.

 of salt and fresh water, The coast’s estuaries, with their mixture

 for shrimp, crabs, and a variety provide an essential nursery

 dockside value of Louisiana’s of fish species. Annually, the

commercial seafood harvest averages $310 million, and 

 a billion dollar industry. recreational boating and fishing is

Scientists estimate that 79 species of animals and plants found 

in U.S. wetlands are either threatened or endangered due to 

wetland loss. The state's wetlands provide habitat for over five 

million migratory waterfowl each year.

For the people who call south Louisiana home, the cost of doing 

nothing has a high price tag. A cultural heritage made famous 

by Mardi Gras has deeper roots than parties and parades. It is a 

heritage of family and friends, hunting and fishing, cooking and 

community. It is defined, in part, by the prosperity that comes 

from living near the rich marshes, estuaries and fossil fuel mines 

hidden in the wetlands.

restore Louisiana’s coast. billion or more to It may cost $14 

 $100 billion. inaction at roughly However, experts put the cost of

 infrastructure for lose this critical Our nation cannot afford to 

oil and gas distribution, energy production, commercial shipping, 

vanish, a part of our natural resources and seafood harvests. If

America’s prosperity vanishes.

A pro-active resolution... The cost of no action...

To address the need for immediate action, Congress 

passed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 

1990. Sponsored by former Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in 

U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, this legislation 

 program that is funds a multi-faceted coastal rehabilitation

five federal agencies and the managed by a task force of 

 CWPPRA is to fund coastal state of Louisiana. The goal of

restore and protect degraded restoration projects that create, 

wetlands, and restore natural processes where possible.

 CWPPRA projects have been Since 1990, more than 145

constructed or approved for construction. During the 

20-year life span of each project, over 70,000 acres of land 

or protected, and an additional are expected to be created 

320,000 acres enhanced.

all of the do not support Although current funding levels

a sustainable ecosystem, necessary restoration required for 

CWPPRA continues to address immediate restoration needs 

 strong science, public while establishing a foundation of

that will continue to participation, and agency cooperation 

 of future programs. serve as the cornerstone

A pro-active resolution...

Runoff from farms, cities and factories flows into the Mississippi River 

drainage basin. The nitrates and phosphates that eventually reach the Gulf of 

Mexico create algae blooms that decompose, depleting the water of oxygen. 

Hypoxic waters are commonly known as “dead zones.”

The oil and natural gas 

industries have a value 

exceeding $16 billion a year. 

Twenty-six percent of U.S. oil 

and natural gas production 

originates, is transported 

through, or is processed in 

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands.

Spraying dredged sediment to restore marshes to specific elevations 

is one of the techniques used to reverse coastal wetland loss.

Located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, the CWPPRA West 

Bay Sediment Diversion Project is the largest wetlands restoration 

effort of its kind in the world. The project's primary purpose is to 

rebuild marsh. The project is a partnership between the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Natural 

Resources. The 85 percent federal share is funded by the Coastal 

Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act.

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 

Restoration Act (Public Law 101-646, Title 

III-CWPPRA), signed into law by President 

George Bush in 1990 and reauthorized in 2005, 

provides approximately $60 million annually 

for coastal restoration in Louisiana.

As the science of wetland restoration evolves, public 

participation is a key element in assuring the continuation of 

these vital programs.

Residents of Louisiana are 

gladdened by the recovery of 

the state bird, which thrives 

in warm, coastal estuarine 

environments. Designated 

as endangered in 1970, 

the Brown Pelican’s U.S. 

population now exceeds 

historic levels.

With 500 million tons of waterborne cargo 

passing through Louisiana’s system of 

deep-draft ports and navigation channels, 

the state ranks first in the nation in total 

shipping tonnage. When Hurricane Katrina 

made landfall on August 29, 2005, it stalled 

the transportation supply lines for imports 

and exports in the area.

Louisiana is by far the nation’s largest producer of 

shrimp, oysters and blue crab.

Photo: Plaquemines Parish Government

Photo: NOAA

Photo: FWS Photo: CWPPRA

Photo: NWRC

Photo: FWS

Photo: Guy Fanguy

Photo: MMS

Photo: Port of New Orleans
Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana from 1956 to 2006:

N

10 0 10 20 30 40 Miles

Scale 1:1,900,000

20 0 20 40 60 80 Kilometers

Fastlands: Agricultural, developed, and upland areas surrounded by levees that are generally considered 

non-wetlands (Louisiana Office of State Registrar (LOSR), 2002) and that are excluded from calculations of net land area change.

1956 Water

1956 Land

1956 to 2006 Land Loss*: Based on direct comparison of 1956 and 2006 (modified from Barras and others, 2008). 

1956 to 2006 Land Gain: *: Based on direct comparison of 1956 and 2006 (modified from Barras and others, 2008). 

Basin Boundary: These boundaries include the shared area between the hydrologic basins defined by CWPPRA (1993)

and the boundary of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) study (Barras and others, 2003).

Hurricane Track

*

Data were filtered to depict larger areas of loss and gain greater than 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) in size and to remove noise and increase the confidence of the depicted trends. 

Source:

Barras, J.A., Bernier, J.C., and Morton, R.A., 2008, Land area change in coastal

Louisiana-A multidecadal perspective (from 1956 to 2006): U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Map 3019, scale 1:250,000, 14 p. pamphlet.

Chenier Plain

Marginal Deltaic Plain

Deltaic Plain

Terrebonne

Basin

Pontchartrain Basin

Breton Sound

Basin

Mississippi River

Delta Basin

Barataria

Basin

Atchafalaya

Basin

Teche/Vermilion

Basin

Mermentau

Basin

Calcasieu/Sabine

Basin

Pearl River

Basin

Lake

Borgne

Lake Pontchartrain

Lake

Maurepas

Breton Sound

Barataria

Bay

Terrebonne Bay

Atchafalaya

 Bay

Mississippi Sound

Chandeleur Islands

Chandeleur

Sound

West Cote

 Blanche Bay

Vermilion

Bay

White

Lake

Grand Calcasieu

Lake

Lake

Sabine

Lake

Lake Salvador

East

Bay

West

Bay

Lake

Boudreaux

Atchafalaya River

Wax Lake

Freshwater Bayou

Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana from 1956 to 2006:

After the storms...

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in the destruction of more than 199 square miles of coastal wetlands during their landfalls. The loss attributed to 

these storms exceeds the wetland losses that had been projected to occur in the entire State over the next 20 years. Viewed in relation to New Orleans 

alone, all of the wetlands that were expected to erode in the New Orleans area over the next 50 years were lost in a single day during the landfall of 

Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Hurricane Katrina destroyed or substantially damaged about one half of the State’s barrier islands along the Gulf of 

Mexico (Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Technical Report (Draft) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District).

For more information on CWPPRA projects, visit: www.LaCoast.gov

 Timbalier Island Dune 

and Marsh Creation (TE-40)

Project area - 663 acres

Net benefit after 20 years - 

273 acres

Cost - $16.8 million

Without restoration efforts, 

Timbalier Island was projected to 

disappear by the year 2050. The 

objective of this project is to restore 

the eastern end of Timbalier Island 

through the direct creation of dune 

and marsh habitat. 

 Black Bayou Culverts 

Hydrologic Restoration 

(CS-29)

Project area - 72,378 acres

Net benefit after 20 years - 540 acres

Cost - $5.9 million

The construction of Black Bayou 

Culverts included ten 10 ft. x 10 ft. 

concrete-box culverts under Hwy 

384 to help with drainage from Black 

Bayou to upper Calcasieu Lake. The 

construction of Hwy 384 altered and 

effectively blocked the bayou.

 West Bay Sediment 

Diversion (MR-03)

Project area - 12,910 acres

Net benefit after 20 years - 

9,831 acres

Cost - $33.3 million

To rehabilitate declining wetlands 

in West Bay, fresh water and 

sediment from the Mississippi 

River are being reintroduced to the 

area using a conveyance channel.

Dredged material from the 

construction of the conveyance 

channel has been deposited in the 

diversion's outfall area to rebuild 

the dying wetlands in this 

large-scale sediment diversion 

project.

 Pecan Island Terracing 

(ME-14)

Project area - 3,550 acres

Net benefit after 20 years - 

442 acres

Cost - $2.39 million

Terracing is one of the newest 

techniques in coastal restoration and 

has become an economical approach 

to direct marsh creation. This 

project is one of many similar 

projects in coastal Louisiana. In 

addition to creating marsh, this 

project is trapping sediment which 

will help sustain the terraces and 

promote additional marsh growth. 

 North Lake Mechant 

Landbridge Restoration 

(TE-44)

Project area - 7,577 acres

Net benefit after 20 years - 

604 acres

Cost - $39.5 million

This project illustrates how several 

techniques may be combined to 

address restoration needs within an 

area. Located in Terrebonne Parish, 

this area suffers from subsidence, 

saltwater intrusion, and shoreline 

erosion. Using dredged material, 

this project will help to turn the tide 

on wetland loss through marsh 

creation and shoreline protection.

Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)

Examples of CWPPRA Restoration Techniques:

Between 1990 and 2009, CWPPRA has completed or initiated 145 projects.

Examples of CWPPRA Restoration Techniques:

Between 1990 and 2009, CWPPRA has completed or initiated 145 projects.

Rita - Sept. 24, 2005

Katrina - Aug. 29, 2005

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