Wetlands contribute to the national and local economies by producing resources, enabling recreational activities and providing other benefits, such as pollution control and flood protection. While it can be difficult to calculate the economic value provided by a single wetland, it is possible to evaluate the range of services provided by all wetlands and assign a dollar value. These amounts can be impressive. According to one assessment of natural ecosystems, the dollar value of wetlands worldwide was estimated to be $14.9 trillion. (Source: Costanza et al.

This site provides the user with downloadable aerial photography, maps, land change, and hurricane information for Louisiana.

Wetlands in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin have declined dramatically since 1982 due to a variety of causes such as urbanization and coastal erosion. Although natural processes have contributed to some of this loss, much of it can be attributed to human activities. Some of the wetland losses can be directly traced to dredging or filling of these areas... The Florida Parishes, which include East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parish, have experienced an accelerated population growth during the past 18 years.

Look beyond the beauty of our coastal wetlands and you'll find this habitat hard at work. Wetlands filter our water, protect our coastal communities from floods, and provide habitat for fish and other wildlife. Coastal wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, and generate more than half of commercially harvested seafood in the United States. In 2015, U.S. fisheries supported 1.6 million jobs (a 1 percent increase from 2011) and contributed $208 billion in sales (a 12 percent increase from 2011).

This map provides a spatial look at CPRA projects in Louisiana, sorted by project type. Users can access factsheets about each project by clicking on the icons.

This online visualization tool supports communities that are assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities. The tool creates a collection of user-defined maps that show the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding.

This online tool provides managers and citizens with easy-to-understand charts and graphs that describe complex coastal data. Users select a county of interest and the website does the rest, creating a helpful educational tool for governing bodies and citizen groups. Current snapshot topics include flood exposure, wetland benefits, and ocean and Great Lakes jobs.

This viewer is a "full-featured GIS for CPRA projects, monitoring data, restoration and protection features, and geophysical information."

[Census] QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.

This online data viewer provides user-friendly access to coastal land cover and land cover change information developed through NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). The tool summarizes general change trends (such as forest losses or new development) and provides tables, maps, and reports to enhance communication and decision-making.