Coastal Louisiana wetlands are one of the most critically threatened environments in the United States. These wetlands are in peril because Louisiana currently experiences greater coastal wetland loss than all other States in the contiguous United States combined. The datasets presented here were utilized in a larger effort to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. Analyses show that coastal Louisiana has experienced a net change in land area of approximately -4,833 square kilometers (modeled estimate: -5,197 +/- 443 square kilometers) from 1932 to 2016. This net change in land area amounts to a decrease of approximately 25 percent of the 1932 land area. Previous studies have presented linear rates of change over multidecadal time periods which unintentionally suggest that wetland change occurs at a constant rate, although in many cases, wetland change rates vary with time. A penalized regression spline technique was used to determine the model that best fit the data, rather than fitting the data with linear trends. Trend analyses from model fits indicate that coastwide rates of wetland change have varied from -83.5 +/- 11.8 square kilometers per year to -28.01 +/- 16.37 square kilometers per year. To put these numbers into perspective, this equates to long-term average loss rates of approximately an American football field’s worth of coastal wetlands within 34 minutes when losses are rapid to within 100 minutes at more recent, slower rates. Of note is the slowing of the rate of wetland change since its peak in the mid- 1970s. Not only have rates of wetland loss been decreasing since that time, a further rate reduction has been observed since 2010. Possible reasons for this reduction include recovery from lows affected by the hurricanes of 2005 and 2008, the lack of major storms in the past 8 years, a possible slowing of subsidence rates, the reduction in and relocation of oil and gas extraction and infrastructure since the peak of such activities in the late 1960s, and restoration activities. In addition, many wetlands in more exposed positions in the landscape have already been lost. Most notable of the factors listed above is the lack of major storms over the past 8 years. The observed coastwide net “stability” in land area observed over the past 6–8 years does not imply that loss has ceased. Future disturbance events such as a major hurricane impact could change the trajectory of the loss rates. Sea-level rise is projected to accelerate over time which might also inflate the rate of wetland loss above current or recent trends and conditions.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 2016 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 1932 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The original dataset was created by Dunbar, and Britsch, and Kemp (2006). The original dataset is citable as: Dunbar, J. B. and Britsch, L. D., 2006. Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana 1932-2001. Map 1. Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, Technical Report, ERDC/GSL TR-05-13, Land Loss Map 1 through 7. The USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center altered the original data by improving the geo-rectification in specific areas known to contain geo-rectification error, most notably in coastal wetland areas in the vicinity of Four League Bay in western Terrebonne Basin. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset (other than geo-rectification revisions), please contact the dataset originator, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The dataset presented here represents a circa 1956 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The original dataset was created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services. The USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center altered the original data by improving the geo-rectification in specific areas known to contain geo-rectification error, most notably in coastal wetland areas in the vicinity of Four League Bay in western Terrebonne Basin. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset (other than geo-rectification revisions), please contact the dataset originator, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The dataset presented here represents a circa 1956 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The original dataset was created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services. The USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center altered the original data by improving the geo-rectification in specific areas known to contain geo-rectification error, most notably in coastal wetland areas in the vicinity of Four League Bay in western Terrebonne Basin. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset (other than geo-rectification revisions), please contact the dataset originator, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The dataset presented here represents a circa 2002 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 1990 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 1973 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 2015 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.

The dataset presented here represents a circa 2015 land/water delineation of coastal Louisiana used in part of a larger study to quantify landscape changes from 1932 to 2016. The dataset contains two categories, land and water. For the purposes of this effort, land includes areas characterized by emergent vegetation, upland, wetland forest, or scrub-shrub were classified as land, while open water, aquatic beds, and mudflats were classified as water. For additional information regarding this dataset, refer to USGS SIM 3381.