King Milling addresses attendees at the opening plenary session of CEER2014.

America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) Chairman of the Board R. King Milling was on hand this morning to deliver welcoming remarks to attendees of the opening plenary session of the 2014 Conference on Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration (CEER). He spoke this morning at the Hilton Riverside of New Orleans as part of the opening session of the week-long conference. 

CEER is a Collaborative Effort of the leaders of the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER) and the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). It annually brings together ecological and ecosystem restoration scientists and practitioners to address challenges and share information about restoration projects, programs, and research from across North America.

AWF will be participating at CEER2014 again tomorrow when Managing Director Val Marmillion will moderate a 9 a.m. plenary session entitled "Mississippi River Restoration." Session speakers will be Edward E. Belk Jr., P.E., SES, Director of Programs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Kirk Hanlan, Assistant Chief Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) USDA, Gary LaGrange, President and CEO, Port of New Orleans, and Robert Twilley, Executive Director, LSU Sea Grant College Program. AWF Senior Consultant Sidney Coffee will then present at a concurrent session later at 10:40 a.m. on The Big River Works. 

A transcript of the speech Mr. Milling delivered to the conference can be read below:

Thank you for convening this important conference in New Orleans. While there are many possible venues in this country available but I would suggest none are so closely connected to the essential values of your organizations. Where else should a conference on ecological and ecosystem restoration be held but where America is experiencing the greatest rate of wetland loss on the planet - the equivalent of a football field of land lost each hour.

Prior to discussing those tragic issues, as each of you venture out to experience New Orleans, I want to remind you that a little less than nine years ago, 80% of this great city was under water - and it sat in that condition for up to two months in blistering heat. - Result = 220,000 housing units became uninhabitable. Contrary to popular belief, the cause was not Katrina, for its mere category 3 impacts directly caused water inundation to only approximately 20% of the city. - Actually almost the same 20% that was inundated 40 years earlier when Hurricane Betsy caused havoc. The remaining 60% of inundation was generated by separate breaches in our interior canals, engineered ironically, to drain the city. Those breaches occurred after the storm had long passed New Orleans and, in many instances, the ultimate victims were in the process of contemplating a return to their homes. The cause of those breaches - extraordinary engineering error.

Given the extent of the tragedy, at that time the overriding question on every person's mind was - can the city recover- can it survive - is it resilient?

Nine years later we have the definite answer. New Orleans has redefined the concept of resiliency, we have not only recovered but we have thrived and excelled. We have proven that a community almost given up for a loss can stir the imagination, become the beacon of new thoughts and initiatives and a destination for entrepreneurial endeavors.

At the end of the day, it was the resolve of individual citizens who overcame fear and the threat of monetary loss, who bet on the future, whose communities assumed collective ownership of the problems and solutions and in the face of tragedy, invested the time, the assets and innovative ideas.

As a result, this city, once on a tract arguably not dissimilar to Detroit, has been resurrected.

It is now 1st on the list of America's biggest brain magnates, leads the U.S. in the number of start-ups per capita, is considered America's best for school reform and has been designated one of America's favorite cities.

So, as you explore this community entrenched in African American, French, Spanish and Creole multi- cultural and multi- racial assets, enjoy it all, including the food, drink, and music as well as the iconic French Quarter and other remarkably and idiosyncratic architecture.

But remember there is more to the region than just these items.

We rest next to the essential navigation route to the Heartland of America. The river has been the catalyst for prosperity from Louisiana and Mississippi to Illinois and Minnesota. The Mississippi River's path to and from the Gulf is a veritable highway for over 11,000 commercial vessels every year that traffic constitutes over 20% of the country's navigation, 20% of the country's exports, inclusive of exporting 60% of the nation's grain, and importing steel, rubber, timber, petroleum and produce.

And finally, there is the massive Mississippi Delta. We sit in the middle of it today. One of the world's most diverse and productive ecosystems - winter home to 75% of migratory birds in the Mississippi Flyway. - 90 to 95% of commercial fish in the Gulf are dependent upon the Delta during all or a part of their life cycle and it supports 30% by weight of all domestic fish caught and consumed in this country.

So there is much to see, much to enjoy, much to take advantage of, but I suggest there is far more to your visit here than these issues, for there is no doubt that this delicate region faces an uncertain future unlike any in the country- and for those in the room you should recognize that the resolution of those challenges falls right into the wheelhouse of CEER, a Collaborative Effort of the leaders of the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER) and the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER).

This story begins and ends with the Mississippi River.

Over thousands of years the river created the Louisiana Delta by periodically overflowing its banks and distributing building blocks composed of freshwater sediment, mud and clay. As the river meandered across Louisiana's coastline it built linear strips of land where our ancestors have lived for centuries and where we live today. More importantly it created a massive ecosystem covering thousands of square miles comprised of forests, swamp and marsh; a veritable blanket of vegetation stretching deep into south Louisiana. The presence of that ecosystem constituted a layer of protection for all who have lived and worked here as well as billions of dollars of infrastructure and the existence of the ecosystem diminished the intensity of hurricanes and acted as a buffer to storm surges and waves.

This natural process resulted in the establishment of the seventh- largest Delta on earth; 7000 square miles of wetlands, twice the size of the Everglades, equaling 25% of the freshwater swamp and in excess of 40% of the saltwater marsh in the lower 48. In the process those same building blocks of fresh water, mud and sediment offset subsidence and compaction, which I emphasize is a distinctive attribute of major deltas across the world.

Is there any wonder we refer to it as America's wetland?

Over the last 80 years, there has been a staggering change in the landscape of this Delta region. In that time frame we have lost close to 2000 m1.2; the size of the State of Delaware and by 2060 we could face the loss of another 1700 Ml.2. Unfortunately, if not addressed, the massive loss shall continue, thereafter.

The cause of this deterioration is, in almost every case man- made. The root cause can be traced to federal policy instituted in good faith after the 1927 flood. In response to that tragic event and in order to preserve navigation and protect against future flooding, the country constructed a levee system which practically speaking, totally confined the river. As a result the periodic flooding ceased and the distribution of those critical building blocks ceased as well.

As a direct result the Mississippi Delta, deprived of fresh water and sediment, began a slow but steady deterioration, as subsidence and compaction continued no longer offset by that distribution of the essential building blocks. Saltwater began a gradual movement northward ultimately intersecting with the stressed fresh and brackish swamp and forest. As one might anticipate, they proved to be incompatible.

Over decades other actions of mankind exacerbated the deteriorating condition. The destruction of massive swamp forest required to build communities and infrastructure, the construction of navigation canals tying our extensive port system to the Gulf, oil and gas exploration primarily in the decades of 30s through 60s, compounded by the impact of the installation of thousands of miles of pipeline to deliver offshore product to refining, chemical and petrochemical companies in order to be transformed into products distributed throughout the country and the world.

As saltwater continued its advance, the natural vegetation died resulting in the establishment of open bodies of water. Thus the protection gradually diminished as subsidence continued unabated and hurricanes of varying intensity crossed our coastline. On almost every occasion the devastating impact reached further and further into the region.

To those witnessing it over time, the condition appeared not unlike a cancer- gradual, imperceptible and finally devastating. With sea level rise, we now have a trifecta or perfect storm; sediment trapped along the lower Mississippi by levees, natural subsidence and rising tide.

It is a sobering tale indeed but there is optimism that action is being undertaken to reverse the deterioration and commence restoration.

Over the last number of years, the State of Louisiana in concert with Federal partners has moved forward to harness the best of science and engineering focusing on restoring the Delta by installing controlled diversions to once again distribute the River's assets, offset subsidence and rebuild the critical ecosystem as fresh water, sand, much and clay reach ever farther into the basins.

Louisiana has reengineered its governmental structure to oversee the massive effort to be undertaken, all of which has been incorporated within a comprehensive Master Plan. The Master Plan sets out a 50 year, 50 billion-dollar program, prioritizing those activities and objectives essential to our survival. Separately the State has incorporated a science driven 501c3, composed of the best coastal scientists from throughout the country, to assist in developing the science and engineering effort and to review and comment upon all science based data. These are all challenges requiring pragmatism with an aim to conserve, reengineer, and restore as much as possible.

At the end of the day you will discover that our course of action is clearly delineated - we either pursue the action established through the efforts of scientists and engineers with a true sense of urgency or we as a state will lose it all. The catastrophe facing us if we fail is not a question of if but when. The loss shall be an ecological disaster of international significance; towns and communities shall be inundated and close to 2,000,000 citizens will be evacuated or worse. Also, the financial consequences - to be felt locally, regionally and nationally, would be staggering. The disruption of oil and gas delivery, the potential failure of the levee system and resulting inability of the Mississippi to perform its appropriate function are all immediate risks.

So I urge you to listen well, learn and be prepared to participate, to interject science, and best conservation practices as your great organization fulfills the historic role of stewardship so essential to your mission.

At the end of the day you will discover that the restoration of our massive Delta is on the backs of all of us in this room. It will take years to regain what has been lost over the previous 80 years.

Ironically, in an 1897 issue of National Geographic there was an article in which, some 30 years before the 1927 flood, there was a debate concerning the confinement of the Mississippi River through the construction of levees and its impact upon the Delta. In conclusion the advocate opposing the construction acknowledged that while levees would be built to preserve navigation and protect against flooding, the consequence of such action would be felt three generations thereafter and the consequences would be dire.

Well, three generations have come and almost gone. There is no future imaginable that can return our coast to its original healthy form. What is on the shoulders of all who work toward ecosystem sustainability is not to remain on the sidelines of what will be one of the most impactful environmental efforts on the planet.

Louisiana residents assume that responsibility not for our generation but rather for the benefit of our grandchildren and for all others residing and working within the confines of a newly restored Delta in the future. In the process, collectively, we cannot allow others to lose focus, to retreat from a standard of excellence that has been the hallmark of a decade of innovation.

So, join our effort by using your valuable intellectual resources to make a difference. Best wishes on a productive meeting.

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