The recent devastation suffered by the Gulf Coast due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has highlighted the risks posed by the disappearance of coastal wetlands and barrier islands in Louisiana. Louisiana loses approximately 24 square miles of coastline per year. While these wetlands provide habitat that supports diverse wildlife and are important economically for commercial fishing, they also protect coastal cities and towns from storm surge. According to scientists, every 2.7 miles of wetlands reduces storm surge height by approximately one foot. Following the hurricanes, Governor Kathleen Blanco and the state legislature made coastal restoration a high priority. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) created by Governor Blanco has established as one of its goals the development of an integrated plan for coastal restoration and levee construction.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority is working with Governor Blanco to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. Working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority is addressing short-term recovery needs while simultaneously guiding the long-term planning process.

Recovery:
-407 bridge loans, averaging $24,000, for Louisiana small business have been awarded
-489, 329 households have received more than $368,777,773 million in disaster food stamps benefits
-38,987 commuters have been transported through LA Swift, the free commuter bus service running from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The weekday average of LA Swift riders is 530 / day. (DOTD)
-70% of private and parochial schools have reopened in the hurricane impacted areas. (DOE)
-34,886 mobile homes and travel trailers have been made ready for occupancy. (FEMA)
-32.1 million cubic yards of debris have been removed. (FEMA)
-716 citizens were displaced in La shelters, down from 63,000 at the peak of activity
-An estimated 83,820 public and private institution students displaced by two hurricanes, just over 30,000 have re-enrolled at other universities (in and out of state) and/or are pursuing studies via electronic campus ("Sloan Semester," etc.).

Planning:
In order to unify the efforts to restore Louisiana's coast, Governor Blanco signed legislation that created the Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority, which replaced the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority. The goal of the legislation is to implement a comprehensive coastal restoration and protection plan and to integrate hurricane protection with coastal restoration. The legislation calls for state action in conjunction with local government efforts to conserve, restore, and create wetlands and barrier shorelines or reefs to provide protection against tidal surges associated with hurricanes.