Overview
- A peer‑reviewed analysis published in May 2026 projects roughly 10 to 23 feet of sea‑level rise for coastal Louisiana and concludes the region has “crossed the point of no return.”
- Louisiana has lost about 2,000 square miles of wetlands since the 1930s and the study estimates up to 75% of remaining marshes could disappear by 2070 with shoreline retreat of as much as 62 miles.
- Policy choices have narrowed options to slow those losses, including Governor Jeff Landry’s 2025 cancellation of a large sediment‑diversion project that scientists say would have bought time for the coast.
- The paper’s authors urge immediate planning for phased, managed relocation to avoid chaotic displacement and warn that past failures after Hurricane Katrina raise acute equity and trust concerns for Black and low‑income communities.
- Relocation precedent shows moves can take decades and carry economic and cultural costs such as higher housing costs and community disruption, so near‑term decisions on funding, law and fairness will shape outcomes for residents.