Posted on April 24, 2019
A new coastal studies center is in the works for Nicholls State University’s campus, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced this afternoon.
The new center will be the fruit of a newly announced partnership between the Nicholls, the state and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Edwards, CPRA head Chip Kline and Nicholls President Jay Clune signed a memorandum of understanding today to make the partnership official.
In his remarks about the announcement, Clune called the partnership “vitally important” as Nicholls’ student body largely comes from such areas as Houma, Raceland and Grand Isle that are in jeopardy due to Louisiana’s land loss and coastal erosion issues.
“They’re among the most environmentally threatened student populations on Earth,” said Clune. “Students will be participants in saving their homes.”
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the center will focus its studies on the Terrebonne and Atchafalaya basins, creating models to aid coastal protection projects in the region.
“This is the beginning of a partnership where we can focus our attention on the Atchafalaya River and the potential for it to be a restoration tool for the Terrebonne Basin,” Edwards said. “The Terrebonne Basin has the highest rate of land loss of any basin along our coast, and it presents some of the most difficult conditions for us to implement projects.”
Kline said the partnership between CPRA and Nicholls is “a natural fit.”
“Partnerships such as this are a necessary and beneficial aspect of the business of coastal management in Louisiana,” Kline said in a press release.
The announcement came while dozens of leaders in coastal restoration were in Baton Rouge for Coastal Day, an event aiming to educate lawmakers about the efforts along the coast.
No timeline for the creation of the center has been provided.
Nicholls’ partnership with the state came less than a week after the university entered into an agreement with the University of New Orleans that will make it easier for students enrolled in Nicholls’ geomatics program to transfer into UNO’s engineering program.
That agreement was designed to promote more students entering the field of coastal engineering.
Source: dailycomet.com
