NFWF Announces $13.2 Million in Support of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan

Second Round of Grants from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 17, 2014 - The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $13.2 million in funding to support critical monitoring and other related activities to benefit priority barrier islands and river diversion projects in Louisiana. Specifically, the project will support elements of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s (CPRA) Adaptive Management Program that will ensure the agency can rely on the best science to plan, design, monitor, operate and implement barrier island and river diversion projects under the State’s Coastal Master Plan. 

The moneys are coming from the second obligation from NFWF’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, created 18 months ago as part of the settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice, BP and Transocean to resolve certain criminal charges against both companies in relation to the spill.

Provisions within the pleas direct a total of $1.272 billion to NFWF over a five-year period for projects in Louisiana. Specifically, the plea agreements require that the funds be allocated solely to barrier island restoration projects and river diversion projects along the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. NFWF must give appropriate consideration to Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and the Louisiana Coastal Area Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta Management Study.

“Securing funding for aspects of the CPRA’s Adaptive Management Program underscores our agency’s dedication to using the best available tools and information to ensure efficient implementation of the Coastal Master Plan and maximize its long-term benefits,” said Jerome Zeringue, chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board. “This obligation of funds from NFWF will bolster the success of critical barrier island and diversion projects along our coast. We appreciate NFWF’s support of Louisiana’s coastal program and their continued commitment to the Gulf.”

The plea agreements that guide NFWF’s administration of the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund call for the funding of projects that are fundamental components of Louisiana’s comprehensive Coastal Master Plan: barrier islands and river diversions. These investments are critical to the long-term sustainability of one of the most productive, unique and imperiled coastal and estuarine ecosystems in the world.

“The model for the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund is one of partnership,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “In order to succeed, NFWF must bring together state resource agencies, federal agencies, and other public and private partners, all working in harmony to fund the best projects that will do the most good for the Gulf of Mexico and the communities that depend on it each and every day. The projects we announce today demonstrate the value of our efforts to work in a collaborative fashion to select projects that will provide significant benefits to wildlife and people for many years to come.”

Louisiana’s 2014 Project:

Please click on the project title for more specific information:

Adaptive Management to Support Louisiana River Diversions & Barrier Islands

For more information on the state of Louisiana’s process for identifying priority Gulf Coast restoration projects, visit the CPRA website: http://coastal.louisiana.gov

To learn more about NFWF’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund in Louisiana, visit http://www.nfwf.org/gulf/Pages/GEBF-Louisiana.aspx