FEJ-Funded Project: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com Coastal Desk

For Reporting on Marine and Coastal Issues of the Gulf of Mexico 2017-2024:

The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com | The Advocate for expansion of its Coastal Desk. This team has produced several hundred print, multimedia and online stories (see some examples below), including comprehensive features co-published with The New York Times. More than 700,000 individual visitors have read Coastal Desk reports online. Tens of thousands more were reached through print editions and broadcast partnerships. The Walton Family Foundation is SEJ’s third-party underwriter for this project.

A sampling of stories from this FEJ-funded project:

• "Gov. Jeff Landry Criticizes Massive Coastal Project, Saying It Would 'Break' Louisiana Culture," November 21, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein and Mike Smith.
• "Louisiana's Biggest Ever Coastal Project May Hit Another Setback. More Study May Be Needed." November 18, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Louisiana Ranked Second in Nation in 2023 for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Major Industries," October 26, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Endangered Sea Turtles Have Been Spotted on These Louisiana Islands for a Third Straight Year," October 15, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Flounder Season Is Closing for Louisiana Anglers. Here's Why and What To Expect." October 14, 2024, by Mike Smith.
• "Environmental Groups, Charter Boat Operator Allowed To Intervene in Mid-Barataria Diversion Suit," October 1, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Is Bowfishing Hurting Louisiana’s Redfish Population? A Salty Debate Endures." July 8, 2024, by Mike Smith.
• "How To Tell the Story of Louisiana’s Fading Coast? This One Started With Some Wooden Ducks." July 5, 2024, by Mike Smith.
• "Court Refuses To Block Rule on Louisiana Plant's Likely Cancer-Causing Emissions," June 28, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Whistleblower Video, Photos Lead to Guilty Pleas for Tanker Dumping Oil in Gulf," June 12, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Saltwater Intrusion in the Mississippi River Has Worsened. New Research Is Closing In on the Reasons," April 13, 2024, by Mike Smith.
• "Vote Helps Clear Path To Controversial Grain Terminal in St. John Parish," April 10, 2024, by Mike Smith; Mark Schleifstein contributed to this report. 
• "New EPA Rule Aims To Drastically Reduce Cancer Risk From Louisiana Chemical Plant Pollution," April 9, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "This New-to-Louisiana Bird Wails Like a Banshee But Eats Pesky Nuisance, Saving Crops," April 7, 2024, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Clash Over Louisiana’s Biggest Coastal Project Reignites in Early Days of Jeff Landry’s Tenure," February 22, 2024, by Mike Smith.
• "EPA to Louisiana: Strengthen Baton Rouge Air Emission Rules, Or We Will," December 9, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "US Supreme Court Denies Request by Oil Firms To Halt Coastal Erosion Suit," November 9, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Here Are The Options To Fix New Orleans Saltwater Intrusion for Good. How Much Will It Cost?" October 30, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "First Home Elevations Set for These Louisiana Parishes Next Year. Will Protect From 100-Year Floods," October 20, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Louisiana's Bigfoot of Sorts, Not Declared Extinct — for Now," October 16, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "As Salt Water Pushes Upriver, Corps Prepares To Ship In 36M Gallons of Fresh Water a Day," September 22, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "New Orleans Wild: Meet the Caretaker of Bayou Sauvage, Among Biggest Urban Wildlife Refuges in U.S.," September 17, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Explosion of Wildfires Offers a 'Sneak Peek' of the Challenges Ahead for Louisiana," August 25, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Hurricane 'Cone of Uncertainty' Should Be Less Uncertain With New Forecasting Technology," July 17, 2023, by Roshaun Higgins.
• "A Foreign Plant, Thought To Be a Savior for Louisiana's Eroding Coast, Fails To Take Root," May 5, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Refinery Water Pollution, Including in Louisiana," April 11, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Feds Slash Gulf's First Wind Farm Areas To Make Room for Drilling, Shipping, Fishing," February 22, 2023, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Mardi Gras Produces Tons of Garbage. New Orleans Wants To Recycle More of It." February 17, 2023, by Roshaun Higgins, #SEJ2023 diversity fellow.
• "He Has Seen the Future of Louisiana's Coast — And Is Now Explaining It," January 15, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Louisiana's Draft Coastal Master Plan Update Promises Billions in Hurricane-Damage Savings," January 6, 2023, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Investigations of Chemical Incidents Hampered by Board's Staff Shortages, Report Says," November 19, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Gulf's First Two Zones for Offshore Wind Farms Selected off Louisiana, Texas," October 31, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Bayou Lafourche's Rebirth Takes 'Transformative' Step As Work Begins on New Pump Station," October 21, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "A New Orleans East Community Is Sinking, With Residents Left To Fix the Damage," October 12, 2022, by Floodlight's Sara Sneath with WWNO Coastal Desk reporter Halle Parker.
• "Gulf of Mexico's Largest Coral Sanctuary Faces an Extreme Threat That's Mystifying Scientists," September 23, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Appeals Court Declares Massive Gulf Oil Lease Unlawful But Allows Drilling To Continue," August 31, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "The Last Days of Isle De Jean Charles: A Louisiana Tribe's Struggle To Escape the Rising Sea," August 28, 2022, by Tristan Baurick. Related: "Letter to the Editor: Thanks for Poignant Story on the Last Days of Isle De Jean Charles," by Keith John Paul Horcasitas.
• "EPA Chief Says Supreme Court Ruling Won't Block Efforts To Curb Climate Change," July 1, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "Catch Limits for Louisiana's Biggest Fishery Blocked by Senate Committee," May 27, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "$80M Bayou Chene Floodgate Dedicated, Providing Protection to 30,000 in Morgan City Region," April 29, 2022, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "'Go Big Or Go Home': Houston Wants New Orleans-Level Hurricane Protection, But Will It Be Too Little, Too Late?" April 16, 2022, by Tristan Baurick.
• "A Hurricane Ida Path Just 15 miles Farther East Could Have Overtopped West Bank, Other Levees: NHC," April 6, 2022, by Mark Schleifstein (subscription required).
• "Corps Will Credit State for Maurepas Diversion As Mitigation for New River Parishes Levee," March 20, 2022, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Colorado Grain Export Company Expands in Louisiana With Purchase of Four Grain Terminals," December 21, 2021, by Halle Parker.. "The new terminal has faced opposition from residents near the site as it would be built within a few hundred feet of a majority Black neighborhood, where residents are now suing to overturn the property's industrial zoning designation."
• "Blue Hydrogen Plant Touted for Louisiana, But Will It Reduce Carbon Emissions?" November 3, 2021, by Halle Parker.
• "Near Venice, Louisiana Is Building a 7-Mile Ridge of New Land To Buffer Storm Surge," November 3, 2021, by Halle Parker.
•      "On Louisiana's Coast, Some Marshes Weathered Ida Better Than Others. The Difference? Mud." October 22, 2021, by Halle Parker.

In 2017-18, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune and The New York Times co-published "Our Drowning Coast," examining Louisiana's coastal loss and its human impact.

• "Left to Louisiana's Tides, Jean Lafitte Fights for Time," February 24, 2018, by Kevin Sack and John Schwartz (NYT).
• "Fortified But Still in Peril, New Orleans Braces for Its Future," February 24, 2018, by Mark Schleifstein (NOLA.com | T-P), and John Schwartz (NYT).
• "Insects Feast on Louisiana Wetlands, Inviting the Gulf In," February 24, 2018, by Tristan Baurick (NOLA.com | T-P).
• How We Reported 'Our Drowning Coast'
• See the project's presentation in The New York Times.
• Announcement: New York Times and Times-Picayune: Coastal Reporting Partnership, April 30, 2017.

Coverage of T-P/NYT coastal-reporting partnership:

• "A Local News SOS From the Denver Post" (interview with NYT executive editor Dean Baquet; see 00:45), CNN, April 8, 2018.

>> Return to FEJ-Funded Projects by News Organization.
>> Return to Fund for Environmental Journalism main page.