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1 1 (April 11, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsaivx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS221 10 April 11,2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration: The Recommended Corps Plan Jeffrey Zinn Specialist in Natural Resources Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division Summary The 109'h Congress may consider legislation that authorizes activities to counter the widespread conversion of lands (mostly wetlands) to open water in coastal Louisiana. In its final report on restoring the coastal Louisiana ecosystem, released January 25,2005, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recommends congressional authorization of specific projects and general programs to both slow the process of conversion and reestablish land at some converted sites. The Corps estimates that this entire package of recommended activities would cost a total of $1,996 million. Included in this package are recommendations for immediate authorization ($1,123 million), further authorized investigation ($145 million), and projects that could be authorized in the future ($728 million). This CRS short report is limited to a summary of this Corps report and the next steps in implementation. It will be updated if Congress enacts implementing legislation. For general background on the causes of land loss, the social and economic costs that result from land loss, and earlier programs and proposals to respond to it, see CRS Report RL32673, Coastal Louisiana: Attempting to Restore an Ecosystem. To follow the likely legislative process, see CRS Issue Brief 1B10133, Water Resources Development Act (WRDA): Army Corps of Engineers Authorization Issues in the 109h Congress. Introduction Scientists agree about the general parameters of past and future rates and patterns of land (and wetland) loss in coastal Louisiana. Since the 1930s, more then 1.2 million acres, mostly coastal wetlands, have been converted to open water. The Corps forecasts that land losses will continue, and that approximately 462,000 acres (including 328,000 wetland acres) will be converted to open water by 2050. The Corps and others who study these changes believe that future losses will continue to be caused by some combination of human activities, such as navigation improvements and development related to oil and gas, and natural causes, such as relative sea level change. These factors have contributed to losses over the past 75 years. These losses reduce the quality and productivity of this wetlands ecosystem, and are accompanied by economic and social costs. While these Congressional Research Service +o The Library of Congress

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