Visual: Satellite image of the Gulf Coast of the United States. Brown plumes of sediment empty into the sea from the Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River carries sediment to the Gulf of Mexico.
Visual: An animation shows sediment bypassing the coastal wetlands and heading straight out to the Gulf, creating an extended portion of the delta by its terminus. A photo of a Louisiana swamp appears.
The flow and floods of the Mississippi River are carefully controlled. As a result, river sediment flows out to sea, not into coastal wetlands. Louisianaís wetlands provide wildlife habitat and hurricane protection.
Visual: A graphic indicates that the southernmost portion of the Mississippi River would be opened. The sediment would then build up nearer to shore, in the wetlands.
Officials have suggested opening levees to let the Mississippi River replenish the wetlands. Allowing the river to flow more naturally would cause the bird-foot delta to erode away.