About OCM

What is the Louisiana Coastal Zone?

Louisiana has 15,000 miles of winding shoreline that extends from the Pearl River westward to the Sabine River.  The intricate balance of ecological systems exists in this area lends itself to recreational and economic opportunities.  Renewable resources found in the Coastal Zone such as numerous species of wildlife, waterfowl, and wetlands support some of the nation’s highest productive fisheries and fur industries.  Non-renewable resources such as crude oil, natural gas, sulphur, and salt also abound in the Coastal Zone, and are an integral part to the state’s economy.  The combination of these renewable and non-renewable resources helps to make the Louisiana Coastal Zone an irreplaceable natural resource.

Covering 8.5 million acres, the Louisiana Coastal Zone includes large open bays and lakes, barrier islands, cheniers, and natural levee forests.  It also includes marshes, swamps, and bottomland hardwoods that sprawl inland from the Gulf of Mexico.  The delicate coastal zone habitats, located in nineteen southern parishes, are an intricate inter-weaving of ecological systems.  It is of vital public interest to manage the Coastal Zone area with sound public policies to protect and preserve one of the world’s richest estuarine regions.

What is the Office of Coastal Management?

Under authority of the Louisiana State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978, as amended (Act 361, La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq), the Office of Coastal Management of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources is charged with implementing the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program (LCRP).  The law seeks to encourage multiple uses of resources and adequate economic growth while minimizing adverse impacts of one resource use upon another without imposing undue restrictions on any user.  In order to successfully accomplish this, a balance must be struck between conservation and resources.

The Office of Coastal Management regulates development activities and manages the resources of the Coastal Zone, especially those which have a direct and significant impact on coastal waters.  The office is comprised of two closely related divisions: the Permits/Mitigation Division and the Interagency Affairs/Compliance Division. It is the function of Office of Coastal Management, through its staff, to maintain, protect, develop, and restore or enhance the invaluable coastal region of the state of Louisiana.