The Gulf Coast Post - July 2023

THE GULF COAST POST

For 35 years, CRCL has been dedicated to restoring Louisiana’s coast. We have been advocating for sciencebased policy, undertaking on-the-ground restoration projects and helping ensure that everyone has a voice in this fight

for south Louisiana

We have big plans for the future, and we need your help to make a positive impact on our coast. We are excited to kick off the summer with a matching gift challenge! Donate to CRCL by July 30 and see your gift doubled. A generous donor will match contributions dollar for dollar up to $5,000 Double your impact today!

The world of restoration has been moving quickly, and there is an abundance of great work on the horizon. With the passage of the 2023 Coastal Master Plan and House Bill 255, as well as the success of our State of the Coast conference, we have a lot to celebrate Thank you to advocates for coastal restoration, including our Restore the Mississippi River Delta partners, for helping advance the Coastal Master Plan with unanimous support from the state Senate and House.

We invite you to explore the pages of Gulf Coast Post and embark on a journey with CRCL. Let us rally together to protect and restore our coastal treasures, safeguarding them for future generations to come.

Oysterbill+OSRP Update

The Senate and House unanimously passed House Bill 255, the legislation introduced by Rep. Mandie Landry of New Orleans that creates a tax credit for Louisiana restaurants that recycle oyster shells. The bill, which received dozens of supportive comments from people in our network, was signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

We are very excited about the bill and the likelihood that it will bring more restaurants into our Oyster Shell Recycling Program. This credit will take effect starting Jan. 1. We will share more information about the credit as it becomes available Please visit https://www.crcl.org/program/house-bill-255-qa/ for more information.

BigBranchMarshNationalWildlifeRefuge Restoration

CRCL mobilized 121 volunteers to plant 5,000 Southern bulrush and deploy 20,000 pounds of recycled glass sand in Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge in late June Bagged sand was used to plug a blowout caused by Hurricane Ida that would have accelerated erosion in the marsh behind the shore. After seeing the bulrush and recycled sand fill in the blowout over the past year, we returned with Common Ground Relief, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Glass Half Full to plant an additional 8,000 Southern bulrush and deploy 100,0000 pounds of sand in three other blowouts. This project will provide critical habitat to fish and migratory birds as well as provide storm surge protection to coastal communities This project was made possible by the CPRA partnership fund, NextEra Energy and Restore America's Estuaries.

CoastalWetlandsReforestation Collective(CWRC)

A consortium of Louisiana organizations will plant more than 30,000 trees, 33,000 plugs of marsh grasses and 40 plots of aquatic vegetation to re-establish a bald cypress and water tupelo bottomland hardwood forest near New Orleans starting this year. The Central Wetlands Reforestation Collective is receiving $715,256 over three years from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a commitment of $404,643 from the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority over four years

The partners in the collective are Common Ground Relief, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development of the Lower 9th Ward, Pontchartrain Conservancy, the Meraux Foundation and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The project is also supported by the St. Bernard Wetlands Foundation, a critical landowner, financial supporter and founder of the efforts to reforest the Central Wetlands.

We expect to mobilize more than 2,000 volunteers CRCL will be the administrator of the grants

We will be working with our partners to host more public volunteer opportunities starting this year. Click here to be notified about upcoming events.

CRCLFridaysatRestorationHQ

We’re opening up CRCL’s Restoration Headquarters to the public every Friday this summer We have big plans for the future of CRCL’s Restoration HQ, and we want you to be a part of the process. Fridays at HQ will be a recurring, casual, open-doors day for our volunteers to spend some time outdoors. Feel free to stop by even if just to say hi. Registration in advance is encouraged but not required. Minors MUST register in advance. As a volunteer, you will work with our summer interns to help maintain our native plant nursery, prepare for our upcoming reef build project and make general site improvements as our site grows.

Have a special skill or tool that could contribute to the site? Let us know! We are open to any ideas for site improvements.

StateoftheCoast2023

More than 1,200 people joined us at State of the Coast in late May and early June, making it one of the most successful conferences we have hosted to date. We are already beginning the planning process for 2025.

The conference facilitated six side meetings; 216 oral presentations within 49 moderated sessions, including 36 student oral presentations; 40 panel discussions; 78 poster presentations, including 33 student posters; and seven film sessions, including 10 films and a poetry reading. Highlights of the conference included opening remarks from Kimberly Reyher of CRCL, Chip Kline of the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Gov. John Bel Edwards; speeches from author Mike Tidwell, White House adviser Mitch Landrieu and Rep. Garret Graves.; and the Women’s Coastal Leadership Breakfast with moderator Dr. Lauren Alexander Augustine and panelists Courtney McGeachy, Dr. Amanda Tritinger, Jean Cowan and Camille Manning-Broome.

This was the most comprehensive iteration of the State of the Coast conference yet It was an honor to host this exchange of ideas, and we hope everyone left the Convention Center ready to engage in restoration for the future of our coast. We hosted the conference along with the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, The Water Institute and Louisiana Sea Grant. Thank you to our partners, staff, sponsors, volunteers and attendees for an invigorating week. We’ll see y’all in 2025!

Post-event resources including presentation slides and films are available here.

CRCLCoastalIssues CandidateForum

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana hosted a Coastal Issues Candidate Forum for gubernatorial candidates on June 2, with five of the major contenders answering questions about coastal land loss and the state’s restoration program and plans. Our partners on the Restore the Mississippi River Delta campaign helped us develop the candidate questions..

The primary in the Louisiana gubernatorial election is scheduled for Oct. 14. You can watch the live stream recording here.

RestorationProgram Reports

CRCL’s Native Plants Program has published its annual planting report, Roots on the Boot. Read it here.

The Oyster Shell Recycling Program shares a similar report on a quarterly basis. Read The Oyster Dish here.

ShowYourSupportfor CRCLPartners

We all know that summers in Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, are slow. If you find yourself restless or looking for some retail therapy, consider visiting one of CRCL’s retail partners. If you’re looking for a tasty treat, visit one of our OSRP restaurant partners. Looking for cool gift ideas that support the coast? Check out CRCL’s online store.

CRCLintheNews

JUNE 2023

Editorial: We must keep coastal progress going, on bipartisan basis

Restaurants in New Orleans are recycling oyster shells to save precious coastline

Lawmakers approve legislation that creates the oyster shell recycling tax credit

Lawmakers Unanimously Pass Bill to Create Oyster Shell Recycling Tax Credit

Erosion and sea-level rise are coming for their Louisiana home. They’re staying anyway. Living sustainably in New Orleans

MAY 2023

Where Y’at BEST OF THE BIG EASY

Q&A: Mike Tidwell reflects on 20th anniversary of book about Louisiana’s land loss crisis

Restoring The Mississippi River Delta Shell Game

Louisiana Legislature Passes Pioneering Coastal Master Plan

Native communities in Louisiana fight to save their land from rising seas

Restaurant to Reef: Coastal Restoration on the Half Shell

CRCL Announces Winners of 14 Coastal Stewardship Awards

APRIL 2023

Biden-Harris Administration recommends funding of $40.3 million for projects in Louisiana to strengthen Climate-Ready Coasts as part of Investing in America agenda

Coastal Day at the Louisiana Legislature

Bayou Segnette Tree Planting Event | Jeff Parish TV

Ahead of governor’s race, Louisiana coastal advocates tout public support for diversions

HB255 by Representative Mandie Landry establishes a tax credit for restaurants that recycle oyster shells

Weathering the Future: Americans use ancient wisdom and new technology to fight extreme weather.

MARCH 2023

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Returns Slurped Shells to the Gulf

Renewed hope for the marshes in Louisiana and protecting rural America’s property rights

Aluminum beverage can recycling effort diverts aluminum, provides money for charity

Louisiana Spotlight | The Cost of Coastal Restoration

The Precipice: THE EROSION AND RESILIENCE OF A LOUISIANA COMMUNITY

Free Fun At Cook-off For The Coast

As our coast vanishes, this Louisiana cook-off is helping in a delicious way

Cook off for the Coast

Coalition Restores Urban Swamp Habitat

How one Indigenous family is adapting their oyster business in the face of climate change

Shell Cycle: The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Returns Slurped Shells to the Gulf Shell-A-Bration to benefit Oyster Shell Recycling Program

UPCOMINGEVENTS

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

A special thank-you to our volunteers, donors, partners, sponsors, supporters and everyone who makes CRCL's work possible. You are our coastal heroes!