The Threat

Since the 1930s, more than 1,900 square miles of Louisiana’s vital marshlands have disappeared.

Why Should I Care?

Coastal wetland loss threatens fisheries and waterfowl populations which contribute to a billion dollar industry vital to the economy of the region. The largest catch of redfish along with world class opportunities for speckled trout and rockfish, 10 million ducks or geese wintering or stopping and over truly makes this a Sportsmen’s Paradise. A myriad of other waterbirds and wildlife also depend on Louisiana’s marshes for food and habitat.

What is Causing this Loss?

The simple response is that humans have changed the landscape over the years:

• Levees built for flood control on the Mississippi River no longer spread the nutrient rich sediment to build and sustain the wetlands. (The sediment now funnels straight into the Gulf of Mexico).
• Channels dug for navigation and oil and gas extraction have allowed salt water to destroy huge cypress forests and vast areas of freshwater marsh.
• Dams built upstream have drastically reduced the amount of sediment that comes down the river.

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In the next 38 minutes, an area of coastal marsh the size of a football field will be washed away.

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What can Congress do?

• Secure $5 billion from federal, state, and private sources for coastal Louisiana restoration in the next five years
• Establish a new, dedicated funding stream to fund coastal Louisiana restoration
• Create a comprehensive restoration plan overseen by federal and state representatives with the authority, capacity, and leadership to implement the plan.

How Can I Help?

Thousands of sportsmen are already heeding the call but they need more help. Together we can create the political will and influence to get Congress to act.

1. Send a message to Congress: The penalties collected from BP and the other companies responsible for the oil spill should be dedicated to restoring the Gulf.
2. Add your group or business to the Vanishing Paradise letter to Congress. See who else has signed on to the letter.
3. Find us on Facebook too!

Tell Me More about Your Conservation Plan

The path to restoring the ecosystems of America’s largest wetland complex begins with reestablishing the natural processes that sustain the coast, including reconnecting the long-severed connection between the Mississippi River and its delta. When the river and its sediment are reintroduced for restoration, the wetlands will be resupplied with sediment, enabling the lands to rebuild.

These actions will make the entire area more resilient, protecting the people who live there, the industries critical to our national economy, and the wildlife that call the area home. They include:

• Securing short- and long-term funding for restoration.
  - Immediately negotiate with BP a $5 billion down payment on what they will ultimately be assessed for natural resource damages from the spill and create a separate escrow account for that money.
• Expediting strategic, already-authorized restoration projects and integrating the Federal Comprehensive Restoration Plan with the State Master Plan.
  - Begin construction within a year on barrier shoreline restoration, beneficial use of dredged sediment, and river diversions at strategic points.
  - Create within the Corps of Engineers a program to deliver sediment to priority areas.
• Ensuring effective governance of coastal Louisiana restoration.
  - Pass federal legislation to create a new Coastal Louisiana Restoration and Protection Task Force to direct the federal agencies’ efforts*.

Medium-scale restoration projects such as the one featured in the video below have already begun to make a difference. And scientists have learned a lot from these initial projects and believe they could design even more effective diversions today.

View the full report for additional information: Common Ground: A Shared Vision for Restoring the Mississippi River Delta