Restore the Mississipi River Delta

Latest news: May 18, 2012

Sen. Richard Shelby to be recognized by National Wildlife Federation
By Mary Orndorff, The Press-Register (Mobile, Ala.). May 17, 2012.
"WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, normally not a favorite of environmental organizations, will accept an award tonight from the National Wildlife Federation for his work on the RESTORE Act, which would direct the fines from the 2010 oil spill to coastal restoration and economic development projects along the Gulf of Mexico…" (Read more)

Scientists still busy with NRDA process
By Steve Phillips, WLOX-TV. May 17, 2012.
"OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) – It's the legal process that will determine the damages caused by the BP oil spill. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment will also outline the restoration that's required to make things right…" (Read more)

CRCL planting 40,000 plants to restore wetlands
By Erin Steuber, KATC-TV (Lafayette, La.). May 17, 2012.
"By the end of the week, tens of thousands of plants will be planted to help protect the coast…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 17, 2012

Moving forward on Restore Act: An editorial
Editorial, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 17, 2012.
"When a final transportation bill is worked out by Senate-House negotiators, Sen. Barbara Boxer says that it will include a measure to direct 80 percent of BP oil spill fines to the Gulf Coast…" (Read more)

OUR VIEW: Morganza requires knowing what is, isn't
Editorial, The Tri-Parish Times (Houma, La.). May 16, 2012.
"There is no denying it, the Morganza to the Gulf project is an impressive undertaking. It is the best imperfect plan available, designed to reduce the impact of tidal surges, slow storms from washing away marshland and delay drainage from damaging inhabited areas…" (Read more)

What is Morganza to the Gulf, anyway?
By Shell Armstrong, The Tri-Parish Times. May 16, 2012.
"We’ve been warned. Coastal Louisiana is at risk. In the event of the “Big One” – monster storms like 2005’s Katrina or a slow mover like Rita – our homes, businesses and communities are vulnerable…" (Read more)

Hurricane system cheaper as do-it-yourself project
By Casey Gisclair, The Tri-Parish Times. May 16, 2012.
"Before Hurricane Katrina tormented Louisiana in 2005, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ price to build hurricane levees was steep, but somewhat doable with the right local and state budgeting, combined with help from the federal government…" (Read more)

Gateway to authorization hinges on next water bill
By Eric Besson, The Tri-Parish Times. May 16, 2012.
"December marks 12 years since the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane protection system first received congressional authorization. Seven years later, it was authorized for a second time…" (Read more)

Louisianans seek mitigation reform
By Eric Besson, The Tri-Parish Times. May 16, 2012.
"Wetlands damage is a necessary byproduct of flood-protection construction, one that requires restoration efforts elsewhere to offset the environmentally negative impacts…" (Read more)

Dolphins photographed in damage assessment process
By Harlan Kirgan, The (Pascagoula) Mississippi Press. May 16, 2012.
"PASCAGOULA, Mississippi — Dolphins in the Mississippi Sound from western Horn Island to eastern Petit Bois Island have been photographed since the summer of 2010 as part of the assessment of damages from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 16, 2012

Efforts to save coast slowed by lack of federal support
Editorial, The American Press (Lake Charles, La.). May 14, 2012.
"Remember the old joke about one of the biggest lies ever told is that the check is in the mail?

Well, that’s not a lie when in comes to Congress. And it’s no laughing matter as far as Louisiana’s efforts to save its coast and wetlands…" (Read more)

Boxer: Highway deal will include measure to funnel oil-spill penalty money to Gulf
By Andrew Restuccia, The Hill (Washington). May 15, 2012.
"A final compromise transportation package will include a provision sending billions of dollars in fines from the BP oil spill to Gulf Coast states, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Tuesday…" (Read more)

Scientists study oil's impact on birds
By Nikki Buskey, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). May 15, 2012.
"Some of the most memorable and horrific images of the Gulf oil spill were of birds, struggling and slathered from beak to tail in thick, chocolatey oil…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 15, 2012

Gulf Oil Spill: Where are we now?
By Greg Angel, WTXL-TV. May 14, 2012.
"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Two years ago it was hard to escape the images emerging along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.

Hundreds of miles off the coast of Louisiana, a BP oil rig exploded killing 11 men. By the time it was capped, it's estimated some five million barrels of oil had contaminated the gulf waters…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 14, 2012

River charts new course
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). May 14, 2012.
"Scientists saw something new happen to the lower Mississippi River on Mardi Gras Day — the birth of a new Mississippi River pass…" (Read more)

Bill would prohibit change for shrimpers
By Nikki Buskey, The Houma (La.) Courier. May 11, 2012.
"An amendment that would prohibit federal money from being used to require Turtle Excluder Devices on shrimp trawls passed the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday…" (Read more)

Program helps fishermen market their catch
By Alan Matherne, LSU Ag Center. May 11, 2012.
"The spring brown shrimp season has begun. Many people are looking to buy fresh shrimp directly from shrimpers or the docks. And local shrimpers are looking to get just a little more money for their larger, premium-quality shrimp by selling directly to those people…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 11, 2012

Romney's possible VP choice criticized for opposing RESTORE Act
By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 10, 2012.
"WASHINGTON – Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a leading candidate to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, is getting some heat back in his home state for casting the only Gulf Coast vote against sending 80 percent of BP oil spill fine money to the five Gulf states…" (Read more)

B.R. startup's solution to nutria problem: Make dog treats
Greater Baton Rouge (La.) Business Report. May 10, 2012.
"A lot of seemingly wacky ideas have been bandied about through the years to get Louisiana's nutria problem under control, but this one may take the cake—or biscuit, rather: Turn them into dog treats…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 10, 2012

RESTORE Act for Gulf Coast draws opposition
By Mary Orndorff, The Press-Register (Mobile, Ala.). May 9, 2012.
"WASHINGTON – A proposal to split the Clean Water Act fines from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill among Alabama and four other states has drawn opposition from other parts of the country…" (Read more)

Take advantage of tool for understanding the oil spill
Editorial, The Press-Register (Mobile, Ala.). May 9, 2012.
"TO THE unscientific mind, much of the technical information surrounding the BP oil spill might as well be written in Greek…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 9, 2012

Lawmakers begin debate on RESTORE Act
By Ledyard King, Florida Today (Brevard, Fla.). May 8, 2012.
"Members of a House-Senate conference committee began debating legislation Tuesday that would steer billions of dollars to Florida and other Gulf Coast states still recovering from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster…" (Read more)

Letter: 'Sensible, equitable'
By Manley K. Fuller (Tallahassee President, Florida Wildlife Federation), Naples Daily News (Naples, Fla.). May 8, 2012.
"It is disappointing to see how some elected officials in Florida are turning the pending RESTORE (Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourism Opportunities and Revived Economy) Act legislation into nothing but another election-year fight…" (Read more)

Vitter: Pipeline a priority
By Jordan Blum, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Mayu 9, 2012.
"WASHINGTON — Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and a large conference committee of House and Senate members began meeting Tuesday to sculpt a compromise to transportation legislation containing the RESTORE Act language that directs BP fine money to Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states…" (Read more)

2 U.S. House Republicans cry foul over part of bill including Restore Act
By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). May 8, 2012.
"Two U.S. House Republicans appointed to help negotiate a transportation bill raised objections Tuesday to provisions that helped provide key Senate votes for the Restore Act. The proposal, which would send 80 percent of any Clean Water Act fines from the BP oil spill to the five Gulf states, was added to the $109 billion Senate transportation bill that passed 76-22 in March. The fines are expected to generate between $5 billion and $20 billion…" (Read more)

Program aims to expand migratory bird habitat
By Nikki Buskey, The Daily Comet (Thibodaux, La.). May 8, 2012.
"Natural resource officials are trying to expand the wetlands available to the millions of migratory birds that pass through the state each year…" (Read more)

CRCL Organizing Huge Christian Marsh Volunteer Planting Event
KATC News (Lafayette, La.). May 8, 2012.
"The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), the Rainey Alliance and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority are looking for volunteers to participate in a marsh restoration project at Christian Marsh (west of Vermilion Bay)…" (Read more)

Local oyster grounds closed after norovirus outbreak
By Nikki Buskey, Houma Courier (Houma, La.). May 8, 2012.
"State health officials closed Terrebonne Parish oyster grounds Tuesday after 14 people became ill from eating oysters in a New Orleans area restaurant late last month…" (Read more)

Marine life suffers near BP’s Deepwater Horizon site
By Susan Buchanan, The Louisiana Weekly. May 7, 2012.
"Dolphins and fish are dying at distressing rates as oil and dispersants from BP’s 2010 spill lurk in Gulf waters and south Louisiana marshes. Last month, Riki Ott, marine toxicologist and former Alaska fisherwoman, said “the Gulf looks a lot like Prince William Sound,” where the Exxon Valdez spill occurred in 1989…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 8, 2012

Legislator says coastal plan not optional for state
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). May 8, 2012.
"Louisiana has little choice but to adopt a $50 billion plan to pay for projects that would protect and restore the state’s coastline, the second-highest-ranking member of the Louisiana House of Representatives said Monday…" (Read more)

Outraged Greenpeace releases images of oiled turtles
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 7, 2012.
"Photos belonging to the federal government showing dead sea turtles covered with oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill, live turtles in boxes being sprayed with water, and a room full of plastic bags that may contain more dead turtles were released by Greenpeace USA on Monday as evidence of what the group contends has been a conscious effort by the White House to downplay the effects of the spill…" (Read more)

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory studying blue crabs for oil spill damage assessment
By Harlan Kirgan, The (Pascagoula) Mississippi Press. May 8, 2012.
"OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi — Two months after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory scientist Harriet Perry released a photo of blue crab megalopa with oil droplets under its shell…" (Read more)

Shrimp season off to a slow start
By Nikki Buskey, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). May 8, 2012.
"What shrimpers are hauling in depends on who you ask…" (Read more)

Latest news: May 7, 2012

Making the coast healthier
By Chris Oberholster, The Nature Conservancy, Alabama state director, for The Press-Register (Mobile, Ala.). May 6, 2012.
"As the author of the guest essay, “A Firmer Foundation” (April 22), correctly notes, we can’t prevent natural disasters, but we can do our best to prepare ourselves to withstand them with as little loss of life and property as possible…" (Read more)

BP oil spill settlement grants will pay for health, mental health services on Gulf coast
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 6, 2012.
"Health care services in southeastern Louisiana will get a major share of the $104 million in grant money included in the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, according to papers filed in federal court on Thursday…" (Read more)

Rare Louisiana pine snake may be making a comeback
The Associated Press. May 6, 2012.
"Some of the nation's rarest snakes are slithering back into the Kisatchie National Forest, where biologists hope they'll find comfy gopher holes and help re-establish a dwindling species of constrictors…" (Read more)