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CPRA kicks off Atchafalaya Basin master‑planning work, solicits project proposals through Feb. 28
Summary
CPRA described the Atchafalaya Basin program, the agency’s legislative responsibilities for the basin, and a new solicitation for project proposals open through Feb. 28. CPRA said it will prioritize construction‑ready projects and integrate basin planning with federal studies to identify early actions.
CPRA staff presented the Atchafalaya Basin program as a distinct element of the FY2026 draft annual plan and described steps to refresh basin planning and prioritize projects for construction.
Brian Lozina, CPRA’s chief of planning, said the Atchafalaya Basin program — which CPRA assumed responsibility for under the 2018 legislative session — has its own legislative process and list of FY2026 candidate projects included as Appendix D in the annual plan. Lozina said the agency’s near‑term focus is on construction of projects already in engineering and on a new master‑planning effort to reconsider priorities in the basin at a multi‑year scale.
Lozina said the master‑planning effort will be multi‑agency and multi‑year and will aim to prioritize projects that provide habitat protection, restoration and public access while recognizing the basin’s cultural and economic importance. He said CPRA opened a public solicitation for project ideas and input and that the first round of submissions from the public is open through Feb. 28. “We want to get these projects done and on the ground,” Lozina said, adding that the program mixes habitat restoration, access (boat ramps) and hydrologic interventions.
Lozina said CPRA will coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and with the larger Lower Mississippi River comprehensive management study to ensure basin‑scale analyses are compatible and can be advanced in tandem. He described CPRA’s intention to adopt evaluation approaches that the Corps can understand so that state‑led analyses can feed federal studies and allow spin‑offs of construction‑ready elements.
Ending: CPRA said it will collect project proposals through Feb. 28 and incorporate public input into the Atchafalaya appendix to the annual plan and the separate basin master plan. Staff invited stakeholders to submit ideas and said the agency would present consolidated results to the board as part of the annual‑plan process.
