Louisiana and national environmental groups have recommended that the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, which critics say funneled Hurricane Katrina's surging water towards the New Orleans area, be closed.
In recommendations released Dec. 5, the groups say the 76-mile-long outlet, known as Mister Go, "was a bad idea when constructed and has become a worse one every year." The report, written by former and current Louisiana State University professors and representatives of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, contends that MRGO has harmed 618,000 acres in the area, either through lost wetlands or destroyed cypress swamps.