With Congressional funding, BOEM responded to hurricanes and other persistent causes of erosion and wetlands loss offshore Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi since 2005. BOEM's response was largely through cooperative agreements for those states to conduct studies on offshore sand resources and to update their data bases, and for Louisiana, to lease offshore mineral resources. Other initiatives also exist. For example, the following project is taking place in Mississippi and on the barrier islands.
The Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP), through direct appropriations, will excavate up to approximately 20 million cubic yards of high-quality sand from the OCS to restore Ship Island and supplement the sediment budget along the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi. The MsCIP was authorized to support the long-term recovery of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties in Mississippi from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Projects are designed to reduce hurricane and storm damage, regulate estuarine salinity levels, preserve fish and wildlife, and prevent shoreline erosion.