Modeling authority over a drowning coast

As sea-level rise inundates the last vestiges of Louisiana's "Working Coast" and protective wetlands, the state is embarking on controversial plans to redirect Mississippi River sediment into its degraded marshes. But in order to manipulate the Mighty Mississippi, state planners must not only marshal a proverbial army of resources, but somehow demonstrate the necessary expertise to do so. Here, I examine one such site of demonstration: the Lower Mississippi River Physical Model in Baton Rouge, La., where visitors can observe sediment diversions in action. I argue that this $18-million showpiece attempts to reinforce a particular imagined geography by the state over its landscape. Competent operation of the model dramatizes authority over the river itself, which presumably helps the State to build popular consent - in the face of entrenched resistance. This article demonstrates how seemingly technical instruments can function as political projects, which has wide-ranging implications for future climate action.