For the last 50 years, 34 square miles of coastal Louisiana have been lost each year, yet coastal Louisiana is of vital importance to the nation because its well being affects 35% of the U.S. commercial fish harvest, 70% of migratory waterfowl along the Mississippi River, 27% of U.S. oil, 32% of U.S. natural gas, the port of New Orleans, and countless acres of upland that can be damaged by storms and hurricanes.