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.