The state has launched a science-based study on the inland boundary of the state’s coastal zone to determine whether the lines drawn up 30 years ago are still viable. The state Department of Natural Resources is overseeing the initiative and the results should be ready by February.
In the recent regular session, officials from Ascension lobbied to have the parish included in the current 19-parish Coastal Zone because it experiences severe flooding problems throughout the year. Lawmakers, fearful that the present parishes could suffer a loss of resources from having to share them with another, voted the proposal down.
The Coastal Zone Management Program was enacted by the federal government in 1972 and Louisiana created its own version six years later. The original plans called for Ascension to be included, but officials at the time opted out.
DNR Secretary Scott Angelle says much has changed in Louisiana since then and the study couldn’t be timelier. “Ongoing erosion and hurricanes have changed the physical makeup of our coast, and new programs, new science and ever-increasing interest have changed the way we approach protecting it,” he says. “It is very appropriate that we take a fresh look at the boundary of our coastal zone to ensure we are managing our resources in the most effective way.”
... written by PlumpyBoy , July 10, 2009 - 07:25 pm
The Coastal Zone Management Program is just big money pit. What's there to manage ? Nothing !... South Louisiana is sinking ! Because of the Mississippi River levee system which is sending tons of sediment into the gulf...duh... Tear down the levees , let the river do its natural thing. Then coastal area's will begin to build up..But, noooo....We can't do that... New Orleans might flood again..Huge lost..NOT ! State should seriously consider relocating New Orleans further inland..But, Nooo...That would make too much sense...Can't do that...Hey, let's have a festival ! Yaah ! Party Party Party ...Problem all gone.. :)
... written by JP , July 13, 2009 - 01:41 pm
The Coastal Zone is a political boundary more than a realistic one. Just look closely at the boundary in Terrebonne parish for an example. So a science-based study should be amusing. There is another delineation called the Conservation Plan boundary, which is much more realistic of the true coastal zone. It encompasses much more area, including much of the Atchafalaya Basin. But including more area in the official Coastal Zone means that the state would get more jurisdiction, a thorny issue with the Corps, private landowners, and local politicians. Good luck with that.
And yes, PlumpyBoy, the Coastal Zone does need management. Balancing economic development with protection of crucial wetlands is a tricky stuff.
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There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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