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Home > Current News > 2004

News: 2004

Sea Grant Among Top Conservation Award Winners
Posted: 3/3/04

Times-Picayune environment reporter, Mark Schleifstein was honored Saturday evening (Feb. 28) with the Louisiana Wildlife Federation's Governors' Award. The award is presented annually to the person or organization deemed to have made the most outstanding contribution toward the protection and wise use of the state's natural resources — air, soil and minerals, forests, waters, fish and wildlife during the previous year from among nominations submitted by the public. Also among the award winners was Louisiana Sea Grant.

Five individuals, two organizations and a company were also recognized for their outstanding conservation achievements in eight categories in 2004. A panel of independent judges with expertise in a wide range of conservation fields made the selections.

Randy Lanctot, executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation had high praise for Sea Grant’s educational efforts. “Louisiana is a state of fishers and fish consumers like no other. As might be expected, a lot of research, writing and education about fisheries and fish resources has been produced over the years. Much of it is still applicable to current questions and issues, especially with respect to the impacts of coastal land loss and the effects of restoration projects. But when you need it, how do you get it?

“A communications committee of Louisiana Sea Grant Extension has solved that problem by harnessing the capabilities of the Internet to bring a world of fish, fisheries and wetland conservation information to our fingertips through the Web site, www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu.” The Web site committee included three Sea Grant Extension Agents in the LSU Agricultural Center (Kevin Savoie, Mark Schexnayder, and Rex Caffey), the Sea Grant Extension Fisheries Specialist in the LSU Agricultural Center (Jerald Horst), and two from Sea Grant Communications (Melissa Dufour and Marilyn Barrett-O’Leary). Sea Grant’s award was in the category of education.

Schleifstein received the Governor’s Award for his environmental writing and particularly for the series, “Washing Away,” an expose on Louisiana’s coastal land loss and the increasing vulnerability of coastal communities to tropical storms. His work has given renewed momentum to the coastal restoration effort and was influential in the adoption of three critical state constitutional amendments at the polls last fall, Lanctot said. Schleifstein was also commended for convening a major conference of environmental journalists in New Orleans that succeeded in informing hundreds of key communicators about loss under the America’s Wetland campaign.

Other winners by category were:

  • Professional - Robert E. Stewart, Jr. director of the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, for developing and guiding the Nation’s premier wetlands research facility and lending its expertise to better understand and preserve wetland resources.
  • Volunteer - James Walker Moore, Jr. of Monroe for dedicating his time, skills and energy to conserve wildlife in his community though his work with Friends of Black Bayou and the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Youth - The Ascension Parish Youth Council for numerous clean-up and beautification projects in the parish, particularly the effort to restore New River.
  • Business - Roy O. Martin Lumber Company for leadership in forest stewardship and wildlife management on almost 600,000 acres of company forestland in Louisiana.
  • Elected Official - Senator Reggie P. Dupre, Jr. of Bourg for championing the cause of coastal restoration in the Louisiana Legislature.
  • Communicator - John N. Fesher, Outdoor Editor for the Lake Charles American Press for advocating, in word and deed, the preservation of Louisiana’s outdoor heritage.
  • Organization - The Toledo Bend Lake Association for being Toledo Bend Reservoir’s chief citizen stewards and tenacious guardians of its natural resources.

The Louisiana Wildlife Federation is a statewide conservation education and advocacy organization with over 13,000 members and 35 affiliate groups. Established in 1940, it is affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation and represents a broad constituency of conservationists including hunters, fishers, campers, birders, boaters, and other outdoor enthusiasts.

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