Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana
In 1998, at the urging of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and other stakeholder groups, Governor Foster and his administration began the process of developing a strategic plan, Coast 2050, that would establish a blueprint for comprehensive coastal restoration in Louisiana.
The development of Coast 2050 represented a joint planning initiative between the Louisiana Wetland Conservation and Restoration Authority, the Breaux Act Task Force and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Coastal Zone Management Authority.
The development of the plan included:
- Soliciting public opinion and recommendations on coastal planning and restoration efforts.
- Resolving conflicts between restoration goals and coastal zone development and infrastructure needs.
- Formulating a plan that was agreeable to the public, scientifically sound, and achievable.
The group charged with developing Coast 2050 established the goal of developing a technically sound strategic plan to sustain coastal resources by providing an integrated multiple use approach to ecosystem management.
Ecosystem management represents an integrated approach to coastal restoration that maximizes the diversity and extent of coastal habitats, while minimizing impacts to coastal users. Through the implementation of the plan’s regional ecosystem strategies, Coast 2050 envisioned the restoration of a sustainable ecosystem in coastal Louisiana by utilizing the same natural forces that initially built the landscape.