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Expert staff

Rebecca Shaw Rebecca Shaw, Ph.D. Associate Vice President, Ecosystems
Michael Regan Michael Regan Director of Energy Effiiciency, Climate
Scott Edwards Scott Edwards Director of Latin America & Caribbean, Oceans

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How we're reviving the Mississippi River Delta

Video: Our four-part plan tackles wetlands restoration

For thousands of years, the dynamic Mississippi River Delta supported a rich ecosystem and fisheries. But manmade alterations to the delta have led to widespread loss of critical wetlands. In May, the Louisiana state Legislature approved the 2012 Coastal Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for protecting the state’s natural resources and communities. It was a big first step in saving the delta.

The next step will be finding funding for the plan, and one option is Clean Water Act fines from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The RESTORE Act dedicates 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties from the oil disaster toward gulf environmental and economic restoration – critical funds for carrying out the Coastal Master Plan. It passed Congress in 2012.

Watch why restoration is so important, and what EDF is doing about it:

Bipartisan support for gulf restoration

“This is absolutely historic for the recovery of Gulf Coast communities, and in particular Louisiana’s vanishing wetlands,” says EDF senior counsel Jim Tripp.

Success story: Restoring the gulf »

Nursing the gulf back to health

The 2012 Coastal Master Plan balances the use of natural processes to rebuild wetlands with traditional engineering and flood protection projects, including levee construction and home elevation.

Find out how »