A report by a panel of scientists says a $2-billion federal-state program should help restore some of the 1.2 million acres of Louisiana coastal wetlands lost since the 1930s. But it recommends that officials reconsider including one of the envisioned first five projects and carry out the work as part of a broader plan.
The report, released Nov. 9, was done by a committee assembled by the National Academies National Research Council. It critiques a $2-billion, multiyear Louisiana Coastal Area plan released by the Corps of Engineers in November 2004. The plan includes five "near-term critical" projects (map), which would reduce loss of land by about 20%, to 8.6 sq miles a year, at a cost of about $864 million.