Spotlight
Our Best Defense Against Hurricanes Is to Modernize This Coastal Law
Written by Portia Mastin, Audubon's Coastal Conservation Policy Manager
Earned Media
POINT: Bold action is needed before hurricanes strike
Op-ed by Natalie Snider:
Growing up in Louisiana, we always made annual storm season preparations, including getting an emergency kit, planning evacuation routes and closely following updates from meteorologists and emergency preparedness officials.
Similarly, governments need plans for how to address the many flood threats that communities along coasts and watersheds face, including more intense hurricanes, sea-level rise and extreme rainfall.
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana developed a science-based, comprehensive Coastal Master Plan to protect communities, as well as cultural, economic and environmental resources, from coastal flooding. The plan, updated every six years with new science, accounts for a range of scenarios over a 50-year timespan.
As a result, Louisiana has secured more than $21 billion for large-scale coastal restoration and protection projects that reduced damages from prior storms and help the region better confront future ones. Louisiana will invest an unprecedented $1.3 billion in coastal projects over the next year alone with more than 114 projects moving forward.
While Terrebonne erodes, neighboring parish sees wetlands growing
Features Alisha Renfro, National Wildlife Federation