Parts of Louisiana’s coast are washing away, and the state wants to hear from the people who see those changes firsthand. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) has reopened public input for the 2029 Coastal Master Plan, and the window stays open through January 31, 2027. Anyone who lives, works, hunts, or fishes on the coast can propose a project. The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) has encouraged its members to take part ([1]).
A Modest Start Points to a Larger Pool
The first round of public input produced 200 submissions. CPRA reviewed those ideas alongside projects carried over from the 2023 plan, and the result was an initial pool of 146 candidate projects. Those candidates are now running through the plan’s modeling tools. The current window gives residents a chance to add ideas before the modeling and plan formulation are complete, which is the stage where the list of options is still open to change.
The timing matters because the Coastal Master Plan is revised every six years. Each cycle decides which restoration and protection projects advance and how they are ranked. Ideas that arrive early have more time to be evaluated alongside the rest of the candidates.
What CPRA Is Looking For
Every submission needs to address at least one of the plan’s two primary goals: reducing land loss or lowering storm surge risk. Beyond that requirement, the process is open to a wide range of submissions. A proposal can be as simple as a rough concept, such as a shoreline that is eroding and a sense of what might slow it. It can also be a fully developed design.
Technical training is not required. Local knowledge is central to the process, and CPRA’s approach is built to gather observations about a particular stretch of marsh, a ridge, a shoreline, or a water-control problem. Residents who have watched a place change over several years may hold details that are difficult to gather from a distance.
Why Hunters and Anglers Have a Stake
The LWF argues that coastal restoration and wildlife habitat cannot be separated in Louisiana. According to the group, the marshes, ridges, and estuaries covered by the plan serve as wintering grounds for waterfowl along the Mississippi Flyway and as nurseries for the state’s fisheries. The LWF has been advocating for Louisiana’s wildlife and natural resources since 1940, and it views habitat-focused ideas submitted early as a practical way to protect places people use for hunting and fishing.
The source also notes that projects included in the Master Plan have the best chance of being funded and built over the coming decades. That does not mean every submitted idea will be adopted. Submissions still pass through the modeling and evaluation process, and the final plan will reflect those results.
Where to Start and What to Know
CPRA has placed its resources online. Residents who want to take part can begin with the following:
- The MP29 website, which serves as the hub for the solicitation, the submission process, and recordings and slides from the October 30 kickoff webinar.
- CPRA’s New Project Development Story Map, a plain introduction to how the Coastal Master Plan works and what makes a strong project idea.
- The New Project Development Map Viewer, which shows the first-round submissions and the current list of MP29 candidate projects.
- CPRA’s Master Plan team, reachable at [email protected].
Key date: submissions for the second public period close January 31, 2027. Ideas submitted earlier are more likely to be considered as modeling moves forward.
Louisiana’s coastline will not stop changing on its own, and the Coastal Master Plan remains one of the state’s main tools for deciding where restoration money goes. For residents who know a stretch of marsh or shoreline well, the next few months offer a direct way to put that knowledge on the record. The question now is how many people choose to do so before the deadline.
