Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster (R) kicked off a campaign to save his state’s coastline this week by bagging a $3 million, three-year grant from, of all places, Shell Oil. “America’s Wetland: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana” also earned the backing of several major national and state environmental and civic organizations, as well as a spot on the label of Tabasco brand hot sauce. The campaign is aimed at building support for a proposed $14 billion federal-state project to restore the Louisiana coastal wetlands, which are critical to the health of marine species in the Gulf of Mexico. The state has lost more than 1,500 square miles of wetlands in the last half-century, largely due to erosion from development. Foster hopes that widespread publicity about the problem will help persuade taxpayers to foot part of the bill for the restoration project, which would entail rerouting parts of the Mississippi River, rebuilding barrier islands, and replanting marsh grasses.
