There have been many plans developed by governmental agencies to restore the coastal landscape in the Pontchartrain Basin. This article traces the development of coastal restoration planning in Louisiana and highlights the elements of three state and federal plans that have been developed in the last decade. While some specifics have changed, the fundamental approaches on which the plans are based largely remain the same: diversions of Mississippi River water and sediment, marsh creation using material dredged from another location, and shoreline protection. All plans accept that change is inevitable at the coast but more recent plans are less constrained by the impacts of these changes on local populations. Rather they anticipate adjustment and change within communities as well. Questions remain as to whether these measures will be enough in the face of the great uncertainty the twenty-first century holds and how science will be applied to support implementation.