A major federal study on the future of the lower Mississippi River examining effects in Louisiana and six other states has been paused due to a lack of guaranteed funding from the Trump administration, the Corps of Engineers said Friday.

Separately, the Corps' New Orleans district confirmed it was losing around 80 of its 1,160 employees to early retirement or deferred resignations -- allowing them to go on leave until the end of the fiscal year before departing -- as the Trump administration seeks to cut federal spending. It said construction projects underway were not affected.

The so-called mega-study , whose launch was announced in 2023, was intended to last five years, cost $25 million and address a wide range of issues key to shipping, flooding concerns and drinking water, among

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