The outcome of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters that occurred in Louisiana caused officials to talk about the unorganized plans of many local and national leaders’ decisions for the coastal community.The Coastal Protection Restoration Authority of Louisiana gave emergency and local officials an opportunity to discuss their experiences, assumptions and initiatives for the coastal communities in Louisiana by hosting a two-day Flood Protection and Ecosystem Restoration Conference that continues today in the Energy, Coast and Environment Building in the Dalton J. Woods Auditorium.”We have had previous programs before, but this conference is targeted toward a broader audience,” said John Pine, Director of Disaster Science and Management.Since levees are a big part of the Louisiana community, panel members discussed topics including comprehensive planning for restoring ecosystems, protecting communities, coastal hazards, inland flood risks, storm surge modeling and flood-protection issues.Some of the panel members included Alexandra Evans, Transportation, Coastal Protection and Environmental Adviser for Louisiana Recovery Authority; Sandra Gunner, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Community Development of Louisiana Recovery Authority; Eric Shaw, Community Planner for Louisiana Office of State Planning and Louisiana Recovery Authority and Windell Curole, General Manager of the South Levee District.Mark Davis, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy at Tulane University said that comprehensive planning is the beginning to a better, safer and stronger coastal community. “It was not a mistake that people settled here in Louisiana,” Davis said. “We have huge value here and we want to make people more confident to stay here.” The Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy, which controls flood and wetland restoration in coastal Louisiana is one of the plans created before hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Carlton Dufrechou, Director of Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, said the Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy will not just work along levees as other man-made features are needed. “Building levees that are high is feasible, but they will not last forever,” Dufrechou said.Melanie Gall, an assistant professor and sesearcher of  the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute, said in order to reduce flood damage and its impact on individuals in the community, mitigation is needed. Mitigation is the process of planning, programming, setting policies, coordinating, facilitating, raising awareness, assisting and strengthening.”One of the biggest benefits of reducing flood damage is building levees,” Gall said. “Many people think that when you live behind a levee that you are safe. This is a false sense of security”.The National Flood Insurance Program, Flood Mitigation Assistance, Flood Control Act, Emergency Loans and Rural Housing Loans and Grants are some of the financial resources that will support the coastal hazards and comprehensive planning initiatives.Today, the Flood Protection and Ecosystem Restoration Conference will cover the structural controls of building levees, planning, maintaining and enhancing the flood protection system from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ——Contact Kimberly Brown at [email protected]