The state of Louisiana has released a $50 billion, 50-year strategy to help protect some coastal residents from worsening storm surges and severe land loss that threaten to swallow communities.

The plan proposes significant water diversions and marsh-creation projects around the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. But due to the high cost and difficulty, fewer restoration projects made the cut for the most-vulnerable and rapidly eroding areas in Terrebonne and Lafourche.

“We understand that there are tough decisions to be made, but it’s up to us to make sure they’re striking the appropriate balance between restoration and protection,” said Simone Maloz, executive director of Thibodaux-based coastal advocacy group Restore or Retreat. “This really is the difference between restoring or retreating.”

Read more: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120112/HURBLOG/120119826
Read the Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan. Comments accepted until Feb. 25, 2012. http://www.coastalmasterplan.la.gov/