Posted on January 23, 2026
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Our state’s fight against coastal land loss is taking center stage, as lawmakers are gearing up for this year’s legislative session.
State leaders are taking steps to protect communities, marshes, and our coastal economy.
“We’re very fortunate, as the front line of defense for our state, and kind of that unifying state agency, looking at both the protection and restoration of our coast,” Michael Hare with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority said.
Baton Rouge gets $2M for water and flood infrastructure
The CPRA board met at the state capitol, focusing on ongoing and future efforts to combat coastal land loss statewide ahead of the session.
Board members heard updates on CPRA implementation progress and reviewed several large-scale restoration initiatives statewide.
Hare also gave an update on the strong public response to the newly expanded Bayou Pigeon boat launch, now one of the most heavily used access points into the Atchafalaya Basin.“There are so many boaters out there trying to get – probably out to their camps – get out to do some hunting or fishing that weekend. It is the most heavily trafficked boat launch going into the Atchafalaya Basin. It’s really great to have that level of investment in a key piece of infrastructure. Being able to go from two boat lanes to seven, so that we can get more people out on the water, and out into the environment, safely, quickly,” Hare noted.
LSU receives $3.7 million to establish flood research center
CPRA says the public still has time to submit their comments and concerns for coastal restoration projects for the upcoming fiscal year 2026 annual plan, a roadmap for their projects across the state.
“The public still can engage with us, either through email or going to our website and submitting comments,” Hare said.
They’ll take those into consideration through February 17, 2026.
Officials say the feedback will be reviewed next month and incorporated into the final version of the annual plan.
