John Bel Edwards in The Associated Press

On Environment: Mississippi River diversion: backbone to coastal restoration

Fishermen oppose river diversions because they would alter water conditions and likely make it difficult to harvest shrimp, crabs and oysters where fresh water is flushed into estuaries.

"Simply put, diversions are the backbone" to coastal restoration, Edwards said. But he said projects need to be weighed against socio-economic factors.

The four candidates did not propose large-scale new mechanisms for funding the enterprise, even as candidates predicted the cost of coastal restoration would reach $100 billion. Edwards said he would seek to get the federal government to do more to fix Louisiana's problems. "This is a national priority," he said.