Environmental Management in Coastal Louisiana: A Historical Review

Colten, C.E., 2017. Environmental management in coastal Louisiana: A historical review. A series of state and federal environmental management policies have been implemented in Louisiana's coastal region over the last several centuries that have directly affected vulnerable coastal residents. The policies have shifted primary attention from flood protection, to wetlands reclamation, to wildlife conservation, to wetlands restoration. Adoption and implementation of these policies have seldom factored in the impacts of management regimes on the coastal society. This paper reviews the changing environmental management regimes, how they have affected access to natural resources in the region, the adaptations made by resource-dependent societies in response to these management changes, the role of public engagement in planning environmental management, and the lack of provisions in the plans to accommodate the human adjustments they impel.