Protect Gulf Coast communities AND wildlife by restoring coastal wetlands
Environmental Defense Senior Policy Analyst Paul Harrison sees signs of progress in our efforts to restore coastal wetlands in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. But, he warns there's a long way to go.
Federal flood control policies in the Gulf Coast region have been broken for a long time. This is like trying to alter course on the Titanic.
Acceptance of the problem is not our challenge. In the year and a half since Katrina, we've won the rhetorical debate with everyone from President Bush to local officials acknowledging the need to restore coastal wetlands as natural barriers to storm surges.
The key is to put the money where the rhetoric is.
In one very encouraging sign, the Army Corp of Engineers recently agreed there is no economic reason to continue providing navigation access on the notorious Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), a manmade channel that literally funneled Katrina's storm surge from the sea to downtown New Orleans. Momentum is building toward closure of the channel altogether.
In Congress, the long-stalled Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is moving forward and could include language de-authorizing MRGO as well as more than $1 billion for wetland restoration projects. However, with projected needs exceeding $14 billion, we have our work cut out in next year's federal budget.
There is a long road ahead, but at least we're all starting to agree on the right way to frame the debate. Compared to where we were a couple of years ago, that's real progress.
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Posted: 02-Apr-2007; Updated: 02-Apr-2007
