State and university officials unveiled ambitious plans during a press conference this week for a new academic clearinghouse and professional training agency that will specialize in coastal challenges on the campus of Louisiana’s flagship university. In theory, the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio will eventually become a worldwide source for restoring and protecting seaside landscapes that take on the brunt of everything from hurricanes and energy exploration to saltwater intrusion and commercial fishing.
In coming months, a test case of restoration projects in parishes along the Mississippi River Delta will be conducted, says Robert Twilley, director of LSU Coastal Sustainability Agenda and an oceanography coastal sciences professor. He says that the studio will be a multi-disciplinary effort that will use the challenges of restoring and protecting the delta to develop new approaches and create smart policies for building more resilient communities.
By doing so, the studio will also be a training ground of sorts for the engineers, biologists and other professionals who are expected to tackle this largely-unprecedented dual challenge of hurricane protection and coastal restoration – a task that could cost upwards to $100 billion over the coming decades.
Twilley says that’s among the reasons the studio is developing international partnerships. “The physical studio will be situated on LSU’s campus, but the expertise will be drawn not only from LSU faculty but from coastal experts around the world,” he adds.
The developing initiative was chiefly made possible through a $300,000 donation from the America’s Wetland Foundation. AWF Chairman R. King Milling says the studio will make strides by impacting policy development and maximizing volunteer efforts on the “front lines of the battle.” It’ll also take on complex design challenges and seek to establish best practices in coastal engineering. “Building capacity in science and engineering is critical for the gulf states, and especially Louisiana and its ability to plan and implement large-scale ecosystem restoration and protection projects – that’s why this is so important,” Milling says. “Through this innovative concept, we will be able to gauge the sustainability of projects under consideration.”
Garrett Graves, the governor’s director of coastal affairs, says the state has set aside an additional $2 million – a “down payment,” he says – to help with similar efforts and labeled the new studio as a way to better identify how projects along the coast are proceeding as they’re being constructed. “We’ve got to better understand and address more efficiently the challenges in this area,” Graves says.
From an administrative perspective, the studio will be supported by an executive committee, which includes representatives from various disciplines including hurricane research, engineering, art, design, landscape architecture, geography, and law, among others. The studio will likewise be overseen by an advisory committee that includes representatives from AWF; Chevron; Shell; Arcadis; the Shaw Group; the Louisiana Recovery Authority; Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities; Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness; and the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration.
