Creation of new group part of comments due today evaluating the Louisiana Coastal Restoration PlanWASHINGTON, July 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A coalition including Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation today called on the Obama Administration to bring together a task force to speed up efforts to restore coastal wetlands, help communities reduce their exposure to hurricane damage, and resolve critical issues not addressed in the Army Corps of Engineers' latest plan.

By Richard A Webster It's safe to swim in Lake Pontchartrain. Seriously, said Andrea Calvin, program coordinator for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.

By Ariella Cohen Defend Jefferson Parish. The fast-eroding shore of Jefferson's east bank could be protected the natural way under a new plan to stabilize the parish's 10-mile Lake Pontchartrain shoreline.

By Cain Burdeau NORCO, La. - In a sure sign that the Mississippi River is uncommonly high, muddy water poured steadily Tuesday into a holding area through a beaver-dam-like structure built after the great flood of 1927, aiming for the sea.

A federal judge threw out a key class-action lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina, saying that the agency failed to protect the city but that his hands were tied by the law.