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Restore or Retreat welcomes Chip Kline as the incoming chair of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority and director of the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities. Kline was
born and raised in Louisiana, and is no stranger to those working in coastal Louisiana for the past several years.
We checked in with the LSU graduate, who has been working in the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities since nearly day one, to ask him a few coastal questions about where he thinks coastal Louisiana has been and where he thinks it is going.
ROR: You have worked in coastal Louisiana for awhile-- what is the biggest change or difference you have seen in coastal restoration from when you started in --- until now?
CK:When I returned to Louisiana to join the fight to save our coast in 2008, our plans were more conceptual than concrete.Now, we have a robust Master Plan that is very specific in listing the projects and programs we are pursuing-and we have
great results to show in the early stages of following the plan. Since 2007, we've secured approximately $18 billion in state and federal funding for protection and restoration projects. With those funds we have moved over 150 projects into design and construction. These projects have contributed to building or improving approximately 250 miles of levees, benefitting over
25,000 acres of coastal habitat, and constructing 45 miles of barrier islands and berms. We have made great progress, but
much more work still remains to be done.
ROR: What do you think is our biggest obstacle outside of coastal Louisiana?
CK:We cannot allow the perception to persist that the federal money sent after hurricanes Katrina and Rita has somehow "solved" Louisiana's hurricane vulnerability issues. Nor can we accept the story that BP has already "cleaned up" the Gulf and our coastal environment, as its TV commercials and news releases keep telling the world. And now, the president's budget has
suggested that offshore revenues promised to Louisiana in the 2006 GOMESA legislation are better spent on the nation as a whole and not on our coast. The reality is that our state, and our coast in particular, is absolutely essential to the nation, both
economically and environmentally. Our coast is a working coast, and when investments are made in the coast we are paying
to maintain access for the entire nation to one of the country's largest energy corridors, some of the biggest ports in the world,
one of the largest fisheries, and vital migratory bird habitat among other things. People need to recognize the severity of our
issues and the progress we are making on their behalf.
ROR: Where do you see coastal Louisiana in 10 years?
CK:We are at a crucial turning point for coastal Louisiana. We have more scientific information supporting our work than
ever before, we are moving into a phase of the program where we are implementing larger scale projects, we are preparing
to make crucial decisions on some of our other major restoration initiatives, and we seem to have a funding source that will provide for our work in the near to medium term. If we continue to follow the Master Plan (and its updates every five years), and continue to make wise investments with the funds we receive, we should have more coastal wetlands and land restored, more and stronger levees and flood gates, bigger and more resilient barrier islands, and a more sustainable ecosystem that will allow us to continue to live and work in our communities. Like everyone, in 10 years I want to see a prosperous Louisiana
where my children-and their children-can live, work and play.
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| | Chairman Kline recently participated in a small group discussion with ROR leadership. |
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