20 Years After Katrina, Meaningful Coastal Protection and Restoration Must Continue

NEW ORLEANS — As the 20th anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita approach, Restore the Mississippi River Delta—a coalition of national and local conservation groups—issued the following statement reflecting on the significant progress made in Louisiana's coastal restoration over the past two decades while underscoring the urgency to maintain momentum: 

“Twenty years ago, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita changed Louisiana forever. More than 1,800 lives were lost, and communities were shattered. The storms exposed deep flaws in Louisiana’s infrastructure and coastal planning processes, and they made it painfully clear that protecting the coast is a national imperative. 

In the years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana has made meaningful progress. We’ve built a globally recognized coastal program rooted in science, transparency and long-term planning. Restoration projects like barrier island rebuilding, marsh creation, and reconnecting the river to its wetlands are helping to buffer storms and restore ecosystems. 

But that hard-won progress is now at risk. Communities hit hardest by Katrina still await promised restoration. Nearly two decades after Congress mandated action to address impacts of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) federal shipping channel, which impacted over one million acres of coastal habitat and played a significant role in the catastrophic and deadly destruction of Katrina, the Army Corps has yet to build a single project in its ecosystem restoration plan. 

And in a recent deeply troubling turn of events, Gov. Landry is turning his back on post-Katrina reforms by politicizing levee boards and disregarding the science-based Coastal Master Plan. He has canceled its most ambitious and transformative project, the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Fully permitted, funded without taxpayer dollars and under construction when the plug was pulled, this cornerstone of the Coastal Master Plan would build and sustain vital wetlands for generations. Walking away is a reckless and dangerous mistake. 
 
Twenty years later, building resilience is an ongoing and critically important effort. There is more work to be done, and more restoration and protection projects to implement along Louisiana’s treasured coastline. One thing that Louisiana’s coast and its communities do not have is time to waste. Backsliding on major commitments now dishonors the lives lost, the progress made over the last two decades and the communities who need smart decisions and significant restoration to continue their unique way of life. 

The anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita must be more than remembrance — they must be a recommitment to the bold, science-based and long-term restoration Louisiana’s future demands.” 

For more information about Restore the Mississippi River Delta, please visit mississippiriverdelta.org. 

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About Restore the Mississippi River Delta: 
Restore the Mississippi River Delta is working to protect people, wildlife and jobs by reconnecting the river with its wetlands. As our region faces the crisis of land loss, we offer science-based solutions through a comprehensive approach to restoration. Composed of conservation, policy, science and outreach experts from Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation and Pontchartrain Conservancy, we are located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; and around the United States. Learn more at MississippiRiverDelta.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.