NEW ORLEANS (press release) — The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is seeking nominations for its annual Coastal Stewardship Awards, which will be presented during this year’s State of the Coast conference in New Orleans. The awards have been given annually for more than 25 years to the people and organizations demonstrating their commitment to protecting and restoring Louisiana’s coast.
Nominations should be made online. They must be accompanied by three letters of support and other supporting materials, such as news articles, videos and project reports. The winners will be announced publicly in advance of State of the Coast and will be presented at the conference June 1.
“Louisiana is at a truly remarkable period in its battle against coastal land loss, with major progress being made in correcting some of the fundamental causes of our crisis,” said Kimberly Reyher, executive director of CRCL. “We are thrilled to be honoring the leaders who have helped us get to this point, and to those who continue guiding our success.”
CRCL, the first statewide nonprofit dedicated to confronting coastal land loss in Louisiana, bestowed the first Coastal Stewardship Awards in 1996. Since then, the list of winners reads like a who’s who of coastal Louisiana leaders. Among them: Woody Gagliano, CWPPRA (also known as the Breaux Act) and Sen. Mary Landrieu. Last year’s recipients included Lifetime Achievement Award winner King Milling; Hurricane Ida award winners Melissa Martin, Raegan Creppell, Jonathan Foret and Genie Ardoin; Amanda Moore of National Wildlife Federation; and Charles Sutcliffe, who leads the state’s Climate Initiatives Task Force. A full list of previous winners can be found online.
This year’s winners will be honored during the State of the Coast conference, which will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center from May 31 to June 2. Registration is open now for the conference, which is hosted by CRCL along with the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, The Water Institute of the Gulf and Louisiana Sea Grant. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend State of the Coast, which is held every two years.
