Posted on October 1, 2025
Three experts in coastal restoration and protection spoke with the Public Research Council of Louisiana last week to discuss the path forward for coastal protection.
Kimberly Davis Reyher, executive director of Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Michael Hare, executive director of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA); and Joseph Orgeron, vice chair of the House of Natural Resources and Environment Committee, participated in a webinar on Friday titled “Coastal Next Steps.”
In July, the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project was canceled by the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group due to increasing costs and concerns over permitting. The project’s purpose was to divert Mississippi River sediment into the Barataria Basin to combat land loss and rebuild wetlands.
In light of the cancellation, PAR organized the webinar to discuss the priorities of CPRA moving forward, said Steven Procopia, PAR president.
The CPRA follows the Coastal Master Plan, a 50-year, science-based coastal protection and restoration strategy that is updated every six years to address land loss, sea level rise, and flood risk through a mix of restoration, structural and nonstructural projects.
Hare said the foundations the CPRA has laid out with the master plan, alongside lawmaker and stakeholder support, have put the state in a more protected spot in the 20 years since Katrina and Rita.
CPRA was created by the Legislature after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to combat coastal erosion. In April 2007, the organization presented the Master Plan, which allowed the state delegation to “swing above its weight class” at the federal level and secure funding, he said.
“It really gives the citizens confidence that when we have a hurricane coming toward us, we’re better prepared for it. We can anticipate what those impacts are going to be,” he said. “We’ve had many tests over the last several years of hurricanes that, without the protection and investment … would have been devastating to communities.
“We’ve been able to weather those storms.”
The state is well-positioned with a strong agency and “amazing” science, Reyher agreed. But while the state is “fortunate,” there are still “fundamental lessons we continue to learn.” One lesson is that the CPRA and these projects need sustained, long-term funding.
“We’re not going to be able to depend upon these one-time sources again and again.”
All future actions should be conducted with urgency in mind, Reyher said. Any inaction is “the same thing as giving up in places,” especially in areas experiencing daily land loss.
Hare said CPRA is currently in the early stages of determining project priorities following the cancellation of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project.
Focus is still set on the southeastern region of the state. Orgeron said he would like to see a prioritization of large-scale, ecosystem restoration projects in the communities near the Barataria Basin, while Reyher said CPRA needs to continue to focus on dredging and sediment replacement.
The projects that are currently being prioritized include landbridges to protect the southeastern coastline and a series of barrier island projects, Hare said.
He added that CPRA is operating with the mission to equitably divvy up resources “coastwide,” acknowledging that southwestern and south-central regions are in “desperate need” of protection projects.
CPRA projects are primarily funded by settlement and recovery money from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. About $8.7 million in funding was received, and access to the funds will end by 2032.
Reyher noted that coastal protection, which supports the fishing and gaming industries, is simply expensive, and the state will need to establish long-term funding that is not contingent on disasters to maintain CPRA’s operations.
To continue to fund coastal restoration projects, Hare said the federal government has to remain aware of the true value of investments in South Louisiana and the substantial revenue the region generates, especially in the liquified natural gas, maritime transportation and industrial production sectors.
“I believe we will find the money. I believe it will come. We have a great case to make; We just have to continue to do so,” he said.
