We protect and restore vital ecosystems to fight climate change and build resilient communities.

Plans for the largest individual ecosystem restoration effort in U.S. history reached a major milestone this year, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the thumbs-up to an EDF-backed plan to restore thousands of acres of precious Louisiana wetlands.

In a state that loses, on average, one football field of land to the sea every 100 minutes, the $1.8 billion project in the Mississippi River Delta will help shield Louisiana’s embattled coastal communities and the city of New Orleans from storm surge and flooding. The restored wetlands will also provide vital habitat for countless species of wildlife.

The vast undertaking is part of EDF’s rapidly expanding work to protect our coasts, and coastal communities, from climate change, which every year pummels the U.S. with stronger, wetter storms and higher seas, placing millions of homes and livelihoods at risk.

In New York, where nearly half a million people face the risk of coastal flooding, we are part of a coalition pushing to secure a $3 billion state investment in seashore and wetland restoration, water quality improvements and more. In Florida, we helped persuade authorities to expand flood protection efforts to incorporate coral reefs and mangroves, which also play an important role in wildlife protection. We are also engaged in resilience projects in New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Cuba, drawing on more than three decades of expertise gained in Louisiana.

What’s next?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision means final permits to begin work could be issued as soon as 2022. The project will harness the power of the mighty Mississippi River to shift massive amounts of sediment to gradually rebuild and maintain 28 square miles of coastal land.