A team of Mississippi River Delta experts recently released a report that provides answers to 10 of the most prevalent questions concerning the restoration of coastal wetlands. The report concluded that any negative effects of not restoring degraded coastal wetlands outweigh the negative effects, including high nutrient levels in wetland waters, of creating sediment diversions to rebuild the wetlands. Though the sediment load of the Mississippi River has decreased in recent years, researchers said there is still enough to rebuild the coast.
Without wetlands in the Mississippi Delta, navigation channels could fail and coastal communities could be subject to ocean surges, flooding them more frequently. The report stressed not only the environmental value the coasts have, but the economic and cultural value as well.