Coastal restoration

Live chat Tuesday: Talk to Bob Marshall about challenges facing coastal Louisiana

Is it too late to save southeastern Louisiana from the encroaching Gulf? Pose your questions and opinions.

By Steve Myers 16 hours ago

Coastal restoration efforts complicated by lack of plan for Mississippi River

During a drought in August 2012, a towboat and barges ran aground on the Mississippi River near Greenville, Miss. This satellite image (rotated so that north is to the left) shows a large sandbar on the western side of the river. Strings of barges, each up to 1,000 feet long, anchored on the east side of the river, wait for clearance to move north or south. In a drought like this, no one has the authority to determine which would have priority on the river: shipping or sediment diversions to rebuild the coast.

Though the river is crucial to the economic and environmental well-being of 31 states, there's no plan to manage competing uses of the river water. Shipping companies, municipal water supplies, industrial plants and coastal restoration projects all need water. How will we decide who gets what?

By Bob Marshall May 14, 2013 2 comments

Historic study to find out what the Mississippi River really carries to help coastal restoration

This image from spring 2001 shows the plume of sediment pouring from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. More sediment would make it downstream if so much water weren't already diverted by the Old River Control Structure upstream of Baton Rouge and other outlets, natural and manmade.

Less than half of the water, and just 19 percent of the sediments, carried in the Mississippi River past the Atchafalaya make it to the Gulf. The finding casts new light on the potential of diversions to create land in adjacent basins — a key strategy in the state's $50 billion plan to save southeast Louisiana from washing away.

By Bob Marshall May 8, 2013

Survey: Americans nationwide willing to shell out personally to save our coast

Researcher says he was surprised at how many people said they would help and how much they would commit.

By Bob Marshall April 24, 2013 3 comments

New research indicates Mississippi River diversions could harm marshland

River diversions larger than Davis Pond, above, are the centerpiece of the state's Master Plan for the coast, but new research questions whether the river's water will do harm before its sediments can do good.

The rallying cry for coastal restoration has been, “Put the river back into the marsh.” But a new study shows that fertilizer found in the river could weaken the marsh plants and soil. More troubling is another study that concludes we don’t really know whether these diversions are building land.

By Bob Marshall April 10, 2013 11 comments

Natural river diversion at ‘Mardi Gras Pass’ gains support from political, commercial interests

Environmentalist John Lopez favors keeping the pass open as a natural land-building strategy.

Alternatives to plugging the crevasse include conduits beneath the levee or a bridge over the gap. These moves would buy time while scientists determine the pros and cons of this "free" diversion project and its potential impact on other projects planned as part of the struggle to rebuild a vanishing coast.

By Bob Marshall March 27, 2013

Coast reclamation advocates warn fight over how to spend BP fines far from over

Coastal restoration costs in Louisiana could devour BP fines in their entirety, but competing interests and other Gulf states are certain to eat into the RESTORE Act funds.

By Bob Marshall March 20, 2013 1 comment

Forces collide as nature takes a stab at saving a coastal marsh — for free

Environmentalist John Lopez measures the depth of water flowing through the crevasse he calls Mardi Grass Pass.

When the swollen Mississippi broke through to feed a marsh during Carnival 2011, it seemed to some like an alternative to the multi-million-dollar man-made diversion planned nearby. But conflicting views over whether to let 'Mardi Gras Pass' run wild are a perfect example of how complex coastal restoration issues can be.

By Bob Marshall March 8, 2013 2 comments

Top state official rebuts dire warning, insists coast can be saved

Garret Graves, Louisiana's coastal protection czar, contends that scientists behind a shockingly gloomy federal report are "just misinformed.” He said the state's master plan allows for adaptation as conditions change.

By Bob Marshall February 27, 2013 3 comments

New research: Louisiana coast faces highest rate of sea-level rise worldwide

New technology has revealed that southeast Louisiana is sinking faster than previously known. Combined with rising seas due to global warming, a leading scientist says waters will rise "at least four feet." With more communities closer to open water, even minor hurricanes could cause catastrophic damage.

By Bob Marshall February 21, 2013 10 comments