State officials released the 2023 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan draft on Jan. 6.

Four University of New Orleans researchers contributed to the creation of Louisiana’s updated $50 billion coastal master plan, which is the state’s proposed guiding document to address the challenges of land loss and coastal flood risk.

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) released a draft of The 2023 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan on Jan. 6. The plan lays out the state’s priorities for implementing restoration and risk reduction projects that officials say will result in a more sustainable coast.

CPRA is tasked with updating the master plan every six years. Once approved by the Louisiana Legislature, the plan becomes the guiding document for the state’s coastal activities and provides a clear path forward for billions of dollars of investment in the design, implementation and operation of large-scale restoration and risk reduction solutions.

UNO earth and environmental sciences professors,Madeline Foster-Martinez, Ioannis Georgiou, Denise Reed and research associate Ann O'Connell contributed to the 2023 draft plan.

Public hearings on the updated plan are scheduled to start later this month. The public hearing scheduled for New Orleans will be held at the University of New Orleans on Feb. 7.