As a Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition (MRD) member, Audubon partners with the National Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Pontchartrain Conservancy to advance a just, climate-resilient coast where people and nature thrive. This is a priority for Audubon as the Mississippi River Delta ecosystem and coastal Louisiana support 100 million migratory, nesting, and wintering birds. Protecting and restoring this vital habitat is crucial to the health and survival of many of these species. 

What's the Problem?

Louisiana's landscape—including the incredibly valuable and productive Mississippi River Delta—is vanishing alarmingly. Every 100 minutes, a football field of land disappears into the Gulf of Mexico. This coastal land loss is a crisis of national importance, as it affects people, wildlife, and jobs across the region and throughout the United States. Continued loss of coastal wetlands increases our exposure to damage from hurricanes, storm surges, and other disasters.

What's the solution?

Louisiana has a plan to address this land loss crisis and implement solutions that can ensure the long-term survival of our region. In the aftermath of the devastation brought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana's Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) created the state Master Plan to enhance its people's protection and restore its disappearing coast.

The 2023 Coastal Master Plan is the fourth plan developed by the state to achieve its comprehensive coastal restoration and risk reduction goals. The plan comprises long-lasting, science-based solutions for addressing the root causes of land loss and implementing projects to build and sustain land across the Louisiana coast. CPRA implements this plan with the government, state legislature, and other state and federal agencies. Louisiana needs leaders who will be a voice for coastal restoration and who support the Coastal Master Plan process. Restore the Mississippi River Delta has identified restoration projects from LouisiaLouisiana's program and the 2023 Coastal Master Plan that, if prioritized and implemented quickly, will help restore and maintain as much of LouisiaLouisiana'sas possible to achieve a resilient future for the people, wildlife, and industries of the region.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to restoration. Instead, it requires a combination of strategies and projects working in tandem to build new and sustain existing wetlands along LouisiaLouisiana's Some of these projects include reconnecting the Mississippi River to its delta through land-building sediment diversions, strategically using dredged sediment to build and sustain wetlands and barrier islands, and constructing salinity control measures to prevent saltwater intrusion and improve the health of our basins. These coastal restoration projects not only build new land but also help protect cities, communities, and infrastructure, support fisheries, and bolster the economy of Louisiana and the entire nation, which depends on the health of the Mississippi River Delta.

Learn more at MississippiRiverDelta.org. Sign up for our email list and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.