The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is seeking public comment from all stakeholders regarding its draft “Louisiana 2019 Flood Disaster Grant Application and Spend Plan.”
In 2019, extensive freshwater flooding caused significant impacts to coastal resources including oysters, shrimp, blue crab, and finfish. The economic impact to the fishing industry in Louisiana from this flood disaster was estimated at approximately $338 million, which included $177 million in current losses and $161 million in projected future losses.
Congress appropriated $165 million for declared fisheries disasters in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 federal fiscal year. In May of 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that Louisiana’s allocation of these funds would be $58.3 million and would be administered directly to LDWF once a spend plan was submitted and approved by NOAA.
LDWF developed this draft spend plan with input from various stakeholders and early drafts of the plan were presented at various task force meetings. To the extent possible, the input collected was incorporated into this draft.
The plan is available at https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Fishing/Commercial_Fishing/Files/LA_2019_Flood_Disaster_Spend_Plan.pdf . Persons wishing to provide comment on the draft spend plan may do so via our online comment form (https://fs30.formsite.com/Jfroeba/61ynwqea3w/index.html) or via email to [email protected].
LDWF will assemble and consider comments submitted by July 31, 2021 and will finalize the plan document for submission to NOAA later this year.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. LDWF receives no state general funding and depends on license sales as a major funding source. Help us protect your hunting and fishing heritage while preserving habitat, wildlife, and aquatic resources by purchasing your license at www.wlf.la.gov. To receive email or text alerts signup here.