Louisiana’s Next Coastal Master Plan: How to Get Involved
By Julia-Claire Oubre
Louisiana’s next Coastal Master Plan might not be released until 2029, but it’s never too early for Louisiana residents, especially sportsmen, to get involved.
In the first few years after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana made coastal restoration a priority. The state developed a state coastal agency (CPRA) and the Coastal Master Plan to guide restoration project implementation and funding. When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened, Louisiana had these frameworks in place to receive large chunks of the settlement dollars intended for restoration projects.
The Coastal Master Plan is updated and published every six years, and the planning process begins almost immediately after the last plan was published (Louisiana’s most recent plan came out in 2023). One of the most important parts of the Coastal Master Plan, and what makes it so unique and historically bipartisan, is the amount of public engagement and community input that goes into each iteration.
From now until October 17 (with another public solicitation period scheduled for early 2026), CPRA is accepting new project ideas from the public to be screened, evaluated and modeled for inclusion in the 2029 plan. These projects can be just about anything that reduces land loss and storm-surge-based flood risks in coastal Louisiana.
We know how important sportsmen are to coastal restoration – it’s what Vanishing Paradise is all about. Sportsmen are the first to see land loss, some of the first to be affected by the disappearance of wetlands and coastal habitats and have a unique understanding of how those impacts not only endanger our homes and communities but put our fishing, hunting and seafood heritage in peril. Attending Coastal Master Plan meetings and submitting projects provides a great opportunity for sportsmen to get involved with coastal restoration work.
Do you have ideas for how to restore wetlands that act as a stopover ground for your waterfowl? Or bolster a barrier island or beach that’s home to your favorite game fish? Maybe you’re just interested in the Coastal Master Plan process and want to learn more about how to get involved in the restoration process. Join us at one of the three community CMP29 meetings being held in southeast Louisiana to learn about the plan and how to submit your project ideas for possible inclusion, share your insights on coastal land loss and flood risk in your community, explore how these challenges may evolve over the next 50 years, and discuss solutions with experts.
Wednesday, September 10
5:30 – 7:30 pm
LUMCON Blue Works – 335 Dickson Rd. Houma, LA 70363
Tuesday, September 16
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Northshore Technical Community College
65556 Centerpoint Blvd. Lacombe, LA 70445
Thursday, September 18
5:30 – 7:30 pm
New Orleans East Hospital
5620 Read Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70127
Cameron
Tuesday, September 23
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Cameron Parish Library
512 Marshall St. Cameron, LA 70631
Lake Charles
Wednesday, September 24
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic Development Center
4310 Ryan St. Lake Charles, LA 70605
Abbeville
Thursday, September 25
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Riverfront Grill
530 Park Ave. Abbeville, LA 70510