Shreveport, LA – According to the statement, Gov. Edwards also tasked the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to serve as the state’s lead agency, working with continued support from Louisiana State University, for engaging with NOAA to complete the remaining steps to formally designate the Atchafalaya Coastal Basin as Louisiana’s NERR.
State officials said that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NERR sites serve as living laboratories for the study of estuaries and the natural and human changes that they experience.
They host monitoring, training, and educational activities that connect people to science while helping to build long-term relationships among local communities, state and federal agencies, and other nongovernmental entities.
Louisiana is currently the only marine coastal state in the country without a National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Gov. Edwards reportedly said:
“Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Coastal Basin is going to be an outstanding addition to NOAA’s NERR System. “From an environmental and scientific point of view, the Atchafalaya River Basin is the nation’s largest freshwater swamp, and where it meets the Gulf of Mexico, there are two active, land-building river deltas and an extremely vibrant estuary. And, as everyone in Louisiana knows, the Atchafalaya Basin is home to a unique and cherished culture and history.”