Summit on the significance of Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan tomorrow

Tomorrow at Louisiana State University's Lod Cooke Alumni Center in Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) & America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) are hosting a Summit on the National Significance of Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan.

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is a governmental authority created by the Louisiana Legislature following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Tomorrow's day-long event follows two leadership forums convened in October last year to address how to make the state's master plan work. During the summit, "coastal leaders will take stock of goals set in motion 15 years ago" and that, CPRA continues in its press release, "provided the framework and model for comprehensive large-scale restoration."

Coastal stakeholders from the private and public sectors will join scientists, coastal experts and state coastal managers to address opportunities of national significance for Louisiana's coastal master plan. Attendees include: Governor John Bel Edwards, Former Governor Kathleen Blanco, Former U.S. Senator, Mary Landrieu, Chair of CPRA, Johnny Bradberry, New Orleans District Commander for the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Col. Michael N. Clancy, Chairman of Governors Coastal Commission and the AWF, R. King Milling, Greater News Orleans Foundation, CEO, Andy Kopplin, and a panel of tv and print journalists.

The Coastal Master Plan's goal is a sustainable coastal Louisiana. The 2017 Coastal Master Plan will provide important information to Louisiana's coastal citizens, allowing them to protect their families, manage businesses, and plan for the future, according to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

Sessions include "Louisiana as the Bellwether in Coastal Restoration", moderated by former Senator Mary Landrieu, Dr. Don Boesch of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Sciences, and Justin Ehrenwerth, Pres. and CEO of Water Institute of the Gulf; and a panel on "The Continuous Storm: Making the Case for Urgent Action" moderated by Louisiana Governor Jon Bell Edwards, former governor Kathleen Blanco (2004-2008), a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, and someone from industry.

The meeting comes at at time when parts of the state have been recently battered by tornadoes and has been dealing with unseasonably torrential and warm weather.

Last year was the 11th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina's's devastation occurred because of levees breaching, not because of the hurricane itself. The pumping system was determined to have been antiquated, and the Army Corps of Engineers was sued. New levees went up around the Big Easy, but have been the subject of controversy further away from New Orleans. Braithwaite, La., for example, suffered massive flooding in late August, 2012.

Mardis Gras season in the Big Easy is well underway, with Fat Tuesday Feb. 28.

For more about the summit, click here.

Photo: via Wikimedia Commons Images. Louisiana National Guard UH-60 Black Hawks of the 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment pick up bundles Christmas trees to drop into Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge to help rebuild the wetlands on March 30. The Christmas trees help to rebuild the missing wetlands that have been washed away over time by breaking waves and collecting silt for new vegetation to take root. (U.S. Air Force MSgt Toby M Valadie Louisiana National Guard State Public Affairs Office/Released) Unit: Louisiana Army and Air National Guard; Mar 20, 2010. By Sgt. Michael Owens, New Orleans, La. Source: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/265104/louisiana-national-guard-assists-with-coastal-restoration