Gulf Coast Post January 2023

THE GULF COAST POST

Did you know that the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana was the first statewide nonprofit dedicated to coastal restoration in Louisiana? We take great pride in our 35-year history. Check out our timeline of accomplishments.

You can also read the influential publication “Coastal Louisiana: Here Today and Gone Tomorrow?” In it, we called for the creation of a state agency to restore and protect Louisiana’s coast; a funding mechanism to direct federal money toward confronting the problem of coastal loss; and the urgent implementation of large-scale restoration projects to correct the conditions that starved our wetlands of the nutrients and sediment they require. Since our nonprofit was founded as a small policy shop 1988, we have become a leader in shaping state and federal policy; begun hosting the premier conference on coastal restoration in Louisiana; created the Native Plants Program, which has put more than 3 million plants and trees into our fragile soil; recycled more than 12.5 million pounds of oyster shell through our Oyster Shell Recycling Program; trained hundreds of students through our Future Coastal Leaders program; and, perhaps most importantly, helped make everyone in Louisiana aware of our coastal problems – and solutions.

Like what you’ve seen so far? We’re just getting started Support our work to help us do even more

-- Kim Reyher Executive Director

CRCL's new Restoration Programs Director

Michael Biros stands on the shell pile with his pup, Lychee!

StateoftheCoast

Call for proposals is open until Jan. 31!

pose your session or presentation for e of the Coast 2023. Submissions may or sessions, in panel or standard mat, posters or oral presentations that Program Committee will organize into ions Topics and subtopics are posted ur conference website, but please do not let them limit you.

We welcome a diversity of viewpoints. Also, please know that we wish to make posters a central part of the conference; posters can be featured as a part of standard sessions. Please don't wait to help us spread the word!

Early bird registration is open until Jan. 31.

Lock in your discounted registration rate NOW! People who have been accepted to participate as moderators, panelists or presenters (talks or posters) will have the opportunity to register at the early bird rate; a discount code will be provided with acceptance into the program. There will be scholarship opportunities for students and community members. There will also be student volunteer opportunities. Information on continuing legal education credits and the possibility of other professional credits will also be made available in advance of the conference.

StewardshipAwards

We will launch nominations for stewardship awards soon, so keep an eye out Every year CRCL honors individuals and organizations demonstrating extraordinary commitment to our coast with a Coastal Stewardship Award. This year, the ceremony will take place at the State of the Coast conference on June 1, 2023. We ask that you begin thinking now about the coastal stewards you would like to nominate.

AYearofCoastalRestoration

Native Plants Program

In 2022, we engaged 347 volunteers over 17 planting events. We planted 1,790 trees, 12,000 plugs of dune grass, and 5,000 plugs of marsh grass! We also introduced 17,000 pounds of sand recycled by Glass Half Full into the wetlands, and we installed 230 feet of sand fencing on coastal dunes We also potted more than 3,000 mangrove seed pods to be planted along our coast in the coming months.

Oyster Shell Recycling Program

We’re proud to say that last year we restored our shell recycling program to its pre-Covid, preHurricane-Ida glory, all the while restoring coastal Louisiana. In 2022, we collected 1,795,432.00 pounds (about 814,393 59 kg) of oyster shells, bringing our cumulative total to 12,522,216 pounds recycled since 2014 We engaged 753 volunteers at 24 events We built two reefs with the Pointe-au-Chien and Grand Bayou communities

Using shell collected from 24 locations, cured for months and prepared by our dedicated volunteers, we returned to Pointe-au-Chien to build our second living shoreline project with the tribe in the fall. An impassioned group of staff, volunteers, tribal and community members, sponsors and more put their hands together to construct Phase 1 of CRCL’s fifth recycled oyster shell reef. We deployed 80 tons of recycled shells, trucked down from Violet to Pointe-au-Chien with the generous help of our partners at Ports America.

Last year we faced challenges: recovery from the pandemic and Hurricane Ida, a cumulative disaster. Programs that protect not only jobs but also our environment have never been more essential. We are grateful to all of our incredibly dedicated staff, partners, volunteers, restaurants, businesses and more who make this work possible.

3935 Louisa Street

New Orleans, LA

Drop-off hours: Mondays

9 a m to 5:30 p m Saturdays 9 a m to 4 p m

2831 Marais Street New Orleans, LA

Drop-off hours: Wednesday to Saturday 11 a m to 5 p m

Don't forget to visit our public shell recycling drop-off locations to recycle your oyster shells!

AYearofCoastalRestorationContinued...

Advocacy and Outreach

2022 was a huge year for coastal restoration, and the past few months have been invigorating, to say the least. We are excited that the final permits have been signed for the Mid-Barrataria Sediment Diversion The project is decades in the making and is critical to our future in south Louisiana

We have witnessed the river changing course and building new land, naturally, at Neptune Pass. We are calling for the crevasse to be left open for as long as possible and for any closure plan to take into account complete research on the implications.

We have hosted dozens of educational field trips and coastal adventure expeditions for elected officials, coastal restoration supporters and students. We continue to support a robust Coastal Master Plan that serves as a blueprint of coastal restoration priorities.

Our state is seeing an unprecedented level of activity to restore our coast, and CRCL is proud to be in the thick of it

Future Coastal Leaders

The Future Coastal Leaders program welcomes high school and college student applications for the spring 2023 semester! Any high school or college students (including graduate students) from Louisiana are encouraged to apply before our first meeting Feb. 15.

CRCL developed the Future Coastal Leaders initiative to prepare the next generation to preserve our coast. This program is free and open to any student interested in coastal restoration, coastal communities, advocacy, and related topics. This is a great opportunity to learn about coastal restoration and to network with other students and professionals involved in this work

For information or to apply, go to www crcl org/program/future-coastal-leaders Help us spread the word to students, peers and colleagues

SpeakingofCoastal Restoration

We are continuing the CRCLectures series, with the most recent at the LSU Center for River Studies We had a packed house at the lecture, which was followed by a tour of the famous river model Members of our Board of Directors and Coastal Advisory Council were among the attendees. We are planning to hold our next lecture in February in southwest Louisiana. Stay tuned!

NativeSeedDrive

In 2022, CRCL began growing bald cypress and mangroves from seed at our Restoration Headquarters in St. Bernard Parish. Now, we need your seeds! We are collecting and planting native, locally grown bald cypress seeds. Seeds can be collected through the end of January from a tree in your yard, on the side of the road, or in parking lots. The more seeds we collect, the larger our native plant nursery can grow, and the more trees we can plant across the coast!

Step 1: Collect, bag and label your seeds.

Step 2: Drop them off at CRCL’s Restoration Headquarters in the minifridge.

Step 3: Volunteer at one of our nursery planting events to propagate and transplant seedlings.

Step 4: Volunteer at one of our tree planting events to restore coastal wetlands.

Learn more at https://www.crcl.org/native-seed-drive/

MakeYourVoiceHeard

Louisiana’s 2023 DRAFT Coastal Master Plan is now available online for public review and comment. CPRA will host four formal public hearings to provide coastal Louisiana residents and stakeholders an opportunity to review and comment on the 2023 DRAFT Coastal Master Plan, the Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Plan, and the 2024 Atchafalaya Basin Program Annual Plan Public comments may be submitted for the plan now through March 25, 2023 via email, regular mail, or in person at one of four upcoming public hearings, which are listed on the next page

UPCOMINGEVENTS

CRCL is turning 35 years old this month, and we want you to celebrate with us! Join us at one of our upcoming events:

CRCL Oyster Shell Recycling Volunteer Event 1 21 23

CRUSH Tree Planting @ Avery Island 2.3.23 CRUSH Tree Planting @ Avery Island 2.4.23

Mardi Gras Recycling with the Grounds Krewe 2.11.23

Mardi Gras Recycling with the Grounds Krewe 2.12.23

Mardi Gras Recycling with the Grounds Krewe 2.18.23

Mardi Gras Recycling with the Grounds Krewe 2.19.23

CRCL Oyster Shell Recycling Volunteer Event 2.24.23

CRCL Oyster Shell Recycling Volunteer Event 2.25.23 Cook off for the Coast 3.11.23 (50% of proceeds go to CRCL's Restoration Headquarters).

Shell-A-Bration 3.31.23

Coastal Day 4 24 23

State of the Coast Conference May 31 – June 2