The River’s Reckoning: Key takeaways on the Mississippi’s challenging new era

A new era emerging along the lower Mississippi River will pose serious challenges for Louisiana and the nation in the years ahead. Here are key takeaways from the newspaper’s project examining those issues .

OUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: The river created south Louisiana with its sediment, led to New Orleans’ founding and serves as one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. But decades of human interference with the river’s course fusing with the power of its natural fluctuations have left south Louisiana vulnerable in myriad ways.

All of these issues are connected and cut straight to the heart of the region’s existence. It has been nearly a century since the lower river’s modern shape took form with the construction of the vast levee system and control structures that hold it