Budget Proposal Could Abandon Significant Restoration Funding in Louisiana

A federal budget proposal could significantly set back habitat restoration efforts in Louisiana by upending the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA).

The latest round of proposed federal budget cuts could have devastating impacts on Louisiana’s coastal habitat if passed.

A proposal is on the table to eliminate the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), a commitment from Congress to share offshore energy revenues with four of the Gulf states that are impacted by its production. In Louisiana, voters passed a constitutional amendment protecting this money solely for coastal restoration projects.

This potential funding is hundreds of millions of dollars desperately needed to support projects that will build and sustain wetlands and shorelines that provide essential wildlife habitat.

The Louisiana Legislature recently approved the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, demonstrating the state’s commitment to addressing its land loss crisis and protecting this nationally-significant region. The master plan’s projects can’t be implemented quickly enough, as Louisiana loses a football field of land every 100 minutes. Additionally, a recent statewide poll showed that 91 percent of Louisianians want funding dedicated to coastal restoration and protection to be spent on nothing else. But the state needs coastal restoration funding to be protected -- for coastal restoration!

You can make your voice heard on this issue! Louisianians, click here to urge your members of Congress to protect coastal restoration funding and honor its commitments to Louisiana by protecting GOMESA and funding for other crucial programs.

An excavator dredging a shallow bayou to use the sediment to build additional marsh [Photo: Latendresse Media Collective]