The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) has released the first public draft of the 2012 Coastal Master Plan for Louisiana.

The 2012 Master Plan is the state's strategic vision for the protection and restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The plan proposes a series of projects to address flooding, hurricane protection, wetland restoration, saltwater intrusion and other important areas of concern to the future of the Louisiana coast. The Master Plan is intended to build on the many plans and projects that have come before, taking the needs of the entire coast into account.

CPRA is mandated by the Louisiana legislature to produce a Coastal Master Plan every five years. The 2012 Master Plan follows up the Coastal Master Plan released in 2007. The 2012 Master Plan requires legislative approval before the final document becomes official.

View the draft of the 2012 Coastal Master Plan.

Following the release of the draft, there will be a series of meetings at several locations across the state to receive public feedback and input. To view the calendar of upcoming CPRA meetings, click here. CPRA can also be contacted directly with questions and feedback through the methods outlined on this page.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana encourages all stakeholders and those interested in coastal protection and restoration to review the Master Plan and provide feedback through the public meetings and communications channels provided by CPRA.

Gulf Future Coalition Releases "Sunshine on the Gulf: The Case for Transparency in Restoration Project Selection"

In late 2005, the twin tragedies of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita exposed Louisiana’s coastal crisis to the world.  To address this crisis, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) proposed in 2005 a comprehensive plan to sustain and protect Louisiana’s coastal communities called the multiple lines of defense strategy (MLODS).  More than just stapling coastal restoration plans to flood protection plans, this innovative approach provided a clarity of vision for integrated planning of what had been a complex muddle to disjointed coastal restoration and flood protection projects.  As an alternative to this complex muddle, MLODS framed the goal of sustaining Louisiana’s coast as a effort to fully integrate restoration of the natural system with building and maintaining a robust flood protection system.  Since the initial proposal, MLODS has  been endorsed by many key government agencies and planning initiatives.