A Tale of Two Basins: Why One is Thriving While the Other is Dying

To understand the issues of land loss affecting Louisiana’s coast and the restoration solutions needed to address it, one needs only compare two neighboring basins on the coast.

In the Atchafalaya Basin, lush, green fingers of land push out toward the Gulf of Mexico, building more and more acreage every year. In the Terrebonne Basin to the east, land is rapidly disappearing at one of the highest rates on the planet.

Why are there such stark differences between these two basins that are geographically so close together? What can these basins teach us about efforts to restore Louisiana’s coast?

The key to successful, ongoing land-building in the Atchafalaya Basin is the steady flow of sediment and fresh water the area receives from the Atchafalaya River and the Wax Lake Outlet. In contrast, there is little fresh water and almost no sediment input to most of the Terrebonne Basin, contributing to continued and severe land loss.

As it always has, rivers and their freshwater and sediment are key to building and sustaining land across coastal Louisiana. Finding ways to use rivers to restore the coast will be essential to maintaining the region. Land change in the Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins, […]

Full article: A Tale of Two Basins: Why One is Thriving While the Other is Dying

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