Enviros, state officials call for MRGO wetlands restoration

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Environmental groups and state leaders Tuesday renewed calls to fix the wetlands outside New Orleans destroyed by the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a federally built shipping channel blamed for worsening the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

The MRGO Must Go Coalition — a collection of national and state environmental groups — issued a report calling for federal funds to fix the damage.

Digging it allowed salt water to intrude, killing marshes and cypress forests.

Since the 1960s, these wildlife areas, known as the Golden Triangle and Biloxi Marsh, have seen the disappearance of marsh, natural ridges, cypress forest and shoreline.

"If we fail to get coastal restoration and hurricane protection right, nothing else will really matter," said Walt Leger III, a Democratic state representative from New Orleans who also serves as speaker pro tempore in the state House.