Building the Plane We're Flying: Challenges and Opportunities in Louisiana Coastal Restoration

In response to significant wetland loss and damage to the hurricane protection system occurring in the 2005 hurricane season, the Louisiana legislature directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), responsible for coastal restoration, to work in partnership with the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), responsible for hurricane protection or levee building, to create a master plan to conserve, restore, and protect the coastline. This newly introduced collaborative dynamic, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and its implementing arm the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR) is consistent with a trend in large-scale ecosystem governance. Fifteen key informants from six different perspectives -- levee districts, DNR, DOTD, Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, University Scientists, and state legislators – were interviewed for this study in order to answer two overarching questions. First, how is the CPRA unique? Second, what challenges and opportunities face it?The initiating crisis provided the conditions necessary for policy entrepreneurs to overcome previous barriers to collaboration and reinvigorate state led comprehensive coastal planning. Further, crisis drew national attention which in turn created national support. Top-down executive level leadership at the state level facilitated an increase in coordination between multiple levels of government. The newly established OCPR, not yet operating at full capacity, has the potential to build capabilities in planning and management of restoration and protection features that rival if not supersede the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Funding constraints tie state activity firmly to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the congressional funding process through the Water Resources Development Act. Challenging the continued success of the organization is the state’s ability to maintain focus and momentum over time in face of changing administrations both nationally and at the state level, short memory of the public and special interests, as well as managing controversial components of previous plans.