In early February, Levees.org got word that the newly sworn in Louisiana governor had disturbing plans for the state’s nationally renowned Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Governor Jeff Landry proposed moving the CPRA underneath the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

The plan also included reducing the number of advisory board members, all of whom provide expertise at no charge. These plans did not appear to be in best interest of Louisiana residents.

So Levees.org crafted a petition and asked its Louisiana residents to write to Governor Landry’s office to abandon the plan. The campaign worked.

The governor’s plan to alter the CPRA appears “on hold” according to an in-depth article by veteran journalist Mark Schleifstein in the New Orleans Advocate this past Friday.

The work of Levees.org––along with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition and Women of the Storm––was instrumental in causing this pause in plans.

The petition and the letter campaign showed that we cannot underestimate the power of the citizen-at-large to rise up, be seen and get heard.

As we near another hurricane season, we can rest a little easier knowing that the CPRA can continue its nationally recognized projects since its creation after the levees broke in August 2005.