Back in the Field

The past month has been a busy one at Restore or Retreat, but we have never been more excited to be out and about in coastal Louisiana!

Bayou Region Day          

The South Central Industrial Association (SCIA) led the effort to initiate Bayou Region Day at the Louisiana Legislature, which Restore or Retreat helped to plan.  It was great to meet with so many Bayou Region delegation members, as well as Secretary Shawn Wilson from the Department of Transportation and Development, Secretary Don Pierson from the Department of Economic Development and Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroeder.   We were able to talk about the Nicholls Coastal Center, surplus dollars dedicated to our coast and much more—we look forward to working with SCIA again on future Bayou Region days!

Coastal Day at the Louisiana Legislature

Restore or Retreat joined the Coast Builders Coalition and Restore the Mississippi River Delta to help host Coastal Day at the Louisiana Legislature in mid-May. The day started with the monthly CPRA meeting, held at the Center for Deltaic Solutions, and tours of the physical river model at the Center for River Studies immediately followed.  Governor John Bel Edwards joined the many coastal groups in attendance and announced major developments in several coastal projects.  Stakeholders were able to visit with legislators, and Restore or Retreat tabled in the rotunda to greet more guests in the capitol.  The CPRA diversions team presented an update on both Mid Barataria and Mid Breton Sediment Diversion projects, and industry representatives received a CPRA briefing on the upcoming restoration and protection projects going to bid soon in the next six months or so.  We closed out the day with a crawfish boil at the Senate Pentagon Barracks, adjacent to the Capitol.  It was a great day to celebrate past coastal successes and look forward to even more exciting work ahead!

Field Trip with Senate EPW and USACE NOLA

Six staff members from the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, along with two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) detailees, travelled from DC to Mississippi and Louisiana to view projects in which their committee has legislative oversight.  Joined by escorts from the Department of Defense, the group visited the Comite River Diversion site with DOTD Sec. Shawn Wilson, and then met with Governor John Bel Edwards.  The group visited the Center for River Studies to view the physical model of the lower Mississippi River with Dr. Clint Wilson of LSU and Rudy Simoneaux, Chief Engineer at CPRA.  The group was shadowed by both Colonel Stephen Murphy of the USACE NOLA District, as well as Mark Wingate for the majority of the trip, and CPRA leadership also joined the group at different points.  USACE hosted a Katrina-tour visiting the surge barrier and important pump stations that are part of the hurricane protection and risk reduction system of Greater New Orleans.  Our friends and partners at GNO Inc. hosted an introduction to several of their board members, as well as representatives from their CCRE coastal committee.

Executive Director Chett Chiasson and Commissioners from Port Fourchon hosted the group for a presentation and port tour on Saturday, and even provided a seafood boil for the staffers so they could learn how to enjoy Louisiana’s premiere fisheries! The trip concluded with site visits to both Bonnet Carré to view flood protection efforts, as well as Davis Pond to view the operations of the freshwater diversion in St. Charles Parish.

A HUGE thank you to everyone at CPRA, the Port, GNO Inc, and the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition who helped pull this trip together, and we look forward to working with the staffers on WRDA 2022 and more!

On Deck

In the upcoming months, we are looking forward to hosting more field trips in Terrebonne and Port Fourchon.  If you have an idea for a field trip or would like to take one yourself, please do not hesitate to reach out to either Simone or Victoria!