National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

DRAWING LOUISIANA’S NEW MAP

ADDRESSING LAND LOSS IN COASTAL LOUISIANA

Committee on the Restoration and Protection of Coastal Louisiana

Ocean Studies Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 2512-03-01 and Cooperative Agreement No. 435-300458 between the National Academy of Sciences and the State of Louisiana with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-10054-2

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2006920074

Cover: Images of the cypress swamp and navigation canal were provided by Dr. Donald Davis of Louisiana State University.

Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

COMMITTEE ON THE RESTORATION AND PROTECTION OF COASTAL LOUISIANA

ROBERT DEAN (Chair),

University of Florida, Gainesville

JEFFREY BENOIT,

SRA International, Inc., Arlington, Virginia

STEPHEN FARBER,

University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

REINHARD E. FLICK,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

MARGOT GARCIA,

Virginia Commonwealth University (retired), Tucson, Arizona

PETER GOODWIN,

University of Idaho, Boise

DANIEL HUPPERT,

University of Washington, Seattle

JOSEPH KELLEY,

University of Maine, Orono

LISA LEVIN,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

SCOTT NIXON,

University of Rhode Island, Narragansett

JOHN M. TEAL,

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (retired), Rochester, Massachusetts

L. DONELSON WRIGHT,

College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, Virginia

Staff

DAN WALKER, Scholar

JODI BOSTROM, Research Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

OCEAN STUDIES BOARD

SHIRLEY A. POMPONI (Chair),

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fort Pierce, Florida

LEE G. ANDERSON,

University of Delaware, Newark

WHITLOW AU,

University of Hawaii at Manoa

ROBERT B. DITTON,

Texas A&M University, College Station

ROBERT DUCE,

Texas A&M University, College Station

MARY (MISSY) H. FEELEY,

ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas

PAUL G. GAFFNEY II,

Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey

HOLLY GREENING,

Tampa Bay Estuary Program, St. Petersburg, Florida

STANLEY R. HART,

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts

CYNTHIA M. JONES,

Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

WILLIAM A. KUPERMAN,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

WILLIAM F. MARCUSON III,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired), Vicksburg, Mississippi

JACQUELINE MICHEL,

Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina

FRANK E. MULLER-KARGER,

University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

JOAN OLTMAN-SHAY,

NorthWest Research Associates, Inc., Bellevue, Washington

ROBERT T. PAINE,

University of Washington, Seattle

S. GEORGE H. PHILANDER,

Princeton University, New Jersey

RAYMOND W. SCHMITT,

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachussets

FRED N. SPIESS,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

DANIEL SUMAN,

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Florida

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

Staff

SUSAN ROBERTS, Director

DAN WALKER, Scholar

CHRISTINE BLACKBURN, Program Officer

ANDREAS SOHRE, Financial Associate

SHIREL SMITH, Administrative Coordinator

JODI BOSTROM, Research Associate

NANCY CAPUTO, Research Associate

SARAH CAPOTE, Senior Program Assistant

PHILLIP LONG, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

Preface

The first Europeans to arrive in the Louisiana coastal area found an environment of fertile lands rich in natural resources, including fish, shrimp, and fur-bearing animals. Alterations, including construction of levees and constraining the Mississippi River, rendered this system even more agriculturally productive, suitable for habitation, and efficient for navigation. While much of the habitation developed on natural levees, the lowlands yielded bountiful crops of sugar and other valuable agricultural products. Navigation to the nation’s heartland through the vast Mississippi River and its tributaries contributed further to the economic vitality of this region. The discovery of petroleum in 1901 provided additional economic stimulus to the region. Today, the harvest of seafood and the unique mix of cultures fuel a significant tourism industry.

Ironically, many of the alterations and activities carried out to increase the general productivity and attractiveness of this region and to exploit its natural resources have contributed to the rapid wetland losses that are the subject of this study. Levees have reduced the deposition of nutrient-rich sediments on areas now in agricultural production, and jetties direct the sediments into deep water that once nourished marshes and barrier islands. Canals cut through marshes for petroleum exploration and for access to production facilities have led to continued degradation of the wetlands, and extraction of hydrocarbons is believed to have augmented the natural subsidence rates. Introduction of nutria has resulted in increased wetland grazing. Finally, constraining the Mississippi River to not allow its natural switching has resulted in a system that is more desirable for navigation but one counter to the natural cycle required for maintaining the net wetland area.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

The State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been aware of the high rates of wetland loss for many years; both have been active in efforts to arrest this loss. In addition to scientific investigations to understand the problem, concerted political efforts commenced in the 1960s that culminated in the passage of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act and the further development of plans to arrest or reduce high wetland losses. The present study focused on a near-term plan, a 10-year, $1.9 billion, scaled-down version of the more comprehensive plan (30-year, $13 billion). Broadly, the committee’s charge was to assess the economic, engineering, ecological, and social viability of the near-term effort and its value to the nation. This near-term plan is unique in several respects: (1) the vast geographic extent of the coastal Louisiana area (31,080 km2 [12,000 mi2]), (2) the pervasiveness of the processes affecting wetland loss, and (3) the amount of background material that has been developed pertinent to an understanding of the wetland loss problem.

The committee and I are indebted to the staff of the Ocean Studies Board for their valuable services and willingness to fill any need ranging from arrangements for the meetings to report editorial services to obtaining additional needed background material. They truly made the efforts of the committee members more enjoyable and productive. Dr. Dan Walker served as program manager for the latter half of the study after Dr. Joanne Bintz departed for other employment. Douglas George was a great help during his tenure as a National Research Council intern with the Ocean Studies Board. We are especially appreciative of Ms. Jodi Bostrom who provided day-to-day support to the committee and, through her broad talents and can-do attitude, ensured that the committee activities were responded to promptly and that unforeseen needs at committee meetings were met. Without the editorial efforts of the staff, this report would be redundant and lack overall flow from topic to topic.

As a final note, the tragedy wreaked on coastal Louisiana by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita occurred after this committee had completed their meetings and after development of a final draft report. Certainly, if this sequence had been different, this report would have had a somewhat different focus. Subsequent to these hurricanes, the committee revisited the thrust of this report relating to our statement of task and recommendations pertaining to wetlands, and it was determined that these previously developed recommendations still applied. It is the hope of the committee that this report will contribute to an understanding of the overall benefits of coastal wetlands and associated levees and barrier islands (not just storm protection) and the urgency of addressing the rapid land loss in coastal Louisiana.

Robert Dean, Committee Chair

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

Acknowledgments

This report was greatly enhanced by participants at the four public meetings held as part of this study. The committee would like first to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations at these meetings: Jack C. Caldwell; Thomas Campbell; Ellis J. (Buddy) Clairain, Jr.; James Coleman; Troy Constance; James Cowan, Jr.; Mark Davis; John Day, Jr.; Gerry Duszynski; Sherwood Gagliano; Karen Gautreaux; Bill Good; James (Randy) Hanchey; Jimmy Johnston; Richard Kesel; Irv Mendelssohn; King Milling; Robert Morton; Shea Penland; Jon Porthouse; Denise Reed; John Saia; Greg Steyer; Greg Stone; Joseph Suhayda; and Robert Twilley. These talks helped set the stage for fruitful discussions in the closed sessions that followed.

The committee is also grateful to a number of people who provided important discussion and/or material for this report: Len Bahr, Windell Curole, Oliver Harmar, Harry Roberts, Robin Rorick, Mark Schleifstein, Kerry St. Pé, Bill Streever, Colin Thorne, and Jeff Williams.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×

LINDA K. BLUM, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

DONALD F. BOESCH, University of Maryland, Cambridge

LEON E. BORGMAN, University of Wyoming, Laramie

VIRGINIA R. BURKETT, U.S. Geological Survey, Many, Louisiana

CHERYL K. CONTANT, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

ROBERT FROSCH, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

ELVIN R. HEIBERG III, Heiberg Associates, Inc., Arlington, Virginia

PORTER HOAGLAND III, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

WILLIAM F. MARCUSON III, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired), Vicksburg, Mississippi

NORMAN H. SLEEP, Stanford University, Stanford, California

PETER R. WILCOCK, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland


Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Frank Stillinger, Princeton University, and Gregory Baecher, University of Maryland. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
×
   

 Draft LCA Comprehensive Study,

 

73

   

 LCA Study,

 

79

   

 Implementation of the LCA Study: Organization, Duration, and Funding,

 

80

   

 Relationship of Coast 2050 and the LCA Study to CWPPRA Projects and Experience,

 

84

   

 Improving Ongoing Restoration Efforts,

 

85

5

 

THE LCA STUDY PLANNING APPROACH, MODELING, AND PROJECT SELECTION PROCESS

 

87

   

 Context for Planning,

 

88

   

 Role of Models in the Planning and Adaptive Management of the LCA Study Planning Process,

 

91

   

 Project Selection and the Link with Modeling,

 

101

   

 The Improved Modeling and Project Selection Process,

 

111

6

 

THE LCA STUDY AND THE FEASIBILITY OF ITS COMPONENTS

 

115

   

 The Five Major Restoration Features,

 

118

   

 Other Elements of the LCA Study,

 

120

   

 Adaptive Management,

 

123

   

 Proposed Management Approaches,

 

125

   

 Feasibility,

 

126

   

 Some Considerations for Long-Term Projects,

 

133

   

 Enhancing the Feasibility of the Overall Approach,

 

138

7

 

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS

 

145

   

 Wetland Loss Causal Factors and Rates,

 

146

   

 Engineering Knowledge Gaps,

 

149

   

 Hydrologic Knowledge Gaps,

 

151

   

 Wetland Formation Knowledge Gaps,

 

154

   

 Societal Knowledge Gaps,

 

154

   

 Ecological Knowledge Gaps,

 

156

   

 Addressing Gaps in the Existing Knowledge Base,

 

158

8

 

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

161

   

 Soundness of Approach and Performance Metrics,

 

162

   

 Addressing Knowledge Gaps,

 

166

   

 Understanding Costs and Benefits,

 

169

   

 Economic Justification,

 

170

   

 Developing a Comprehensive Plan,

 

172

Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
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REFERENCES

 

177

 

 

APPENDIXES

 

 

A

 

Committee and Staff Biographies

 

185

B

 

Acronyms and Abbreviations

 

189

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Drawing Louisiana's New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11476.
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During the past 50 years, coastal Louisiana has suffered catastrophic land loss due to both natural and human causes. This loss has increased storm vulnerability and amplified risks to lives, property, and economies--a fact underscored by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Drawing Louisiana's New Map reviews a restoration plan proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana, finding that, although the individual projects in the study are scientifically sound, there should be more and larger scale projects that provide a comprehensive approach to addressing land loss over such a large area. More importantly, the study should be guided by a detailed map of the expected future landscape of coastal Louisiana that is developed from agreed upon goals for the region and the nation.

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