The Conveyance: ROR's E-newsletter              October 2016
 
It's not too late to RSVP!!

1st Annual
Restore or Retreat 
Rendezvous
  
Thursday, October 27, 2016
  5 'til 8 pm

Lafourche Central Market
4484 Louisiana Highway 1, Raceland
Where Highway 90 and La 1 intersect
Come Pass A Good Time!

Music by the Cajun Music Preservation Society

Good Food and Cold Drinks

Silent and Live Auction with NSU v A&M trip, fishing trips,  

alligator hunts, and much more!

 

 

SPONSORSHIP AND TICKET LEVELS:
EAGLE:  $5,000 Sponsorship
Includes admission for 16, one-year membership to ROR, event signage and logo displayed, event recognition, pre- and post-event publicity, website links

PELICAN: $2,500 Sponsorship
Includes admission for 10, one-year corporate membership to ROR, and event signage and recognition, pre- and post-event publicity

HERON:  $1,000 Sponsorship
Includes admission for 8, one-year membership to ROR, and event signage

EGRET: $500 Sponsorship
Includes admission for 4, one-year membership to ROR and event signage

SANDPIPER: $250 Sponsorship
Includes admission for 2, a one-year membership to ROR and event recognition

Seagulls and Seaguys: TICKETS @ $50 PER TICKET:
Includes admission and one year individual Restore or Retreat membership

Register Online Here  
Community Conversations
Bren Haase of the CPRA talks to residents in Dulac about potential projects in the 2017 Master Plan.
CPRA and Restore or Retreat wrapped up their community conversations across the coast last week.

Nearly 450 residents participated in Community Conversations with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority in six towns across the coast this month. CPRA partnered with ROR and other community partners to host a series of fall outreach meetings about the State's 2017 Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan.
   
The purpose of these meetings was to update the residents on the Master Plan process prior to the plan's release in January, but also receive valuable input and feedback from citizens and stakeholders.   
ROR Executive Director
Simone Maloz discusses the
$50 billion alternative map at
Dillard University in New Orleans.
It wasn't your usual "public meeting."  The meetings were held in the evening, beginning with a 5pm Open House.  A dinner sponsored by Restore or Retreat was served, followed by a short presentation from CPRA.  Then there were facilitated small group discussions, where feedback was captured and will be brought back to CPRA to help inform their plan.   Restore or Retreat will be preparing a report based on the outcomes of the meetings, and will present the report to the CPRA for inclusion in the 2017 Master Plan. 

Grants from the Greater New Orleans Foundation's Thriving Communities program and the Bayou Community Foundation were instrumental in supporting the Community Conversations .  Click on the links learn more about Thriving Communities or BCF.

From CPRA: Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Releases First Draft Restoration Plan; Barataria and Terrebonne Projects Included
BATON ROUGE -  Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), along with the other state and federal agencies of the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, announces the release of its "Draft Restoration Plan #1," which proposes restoration projects to continue to address injuries to natural resources in Louisiana caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This is the first Louisiana natural resource restoration plan to be released since the Natural Resource Damage Assessment settlement was approved on April 4, 2016. "Release of this plan represents an exciting and significant step forward in our efforts to recover from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Because of the oil spill, Louisiana's coast has suffered one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history and we are absolutely committed to moving ahead as quickly and efficiently as possible to address these injuries", said Johnny Bradberry, Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities.

The draft restoration plan proposes using $22.3 million in Deepwater Horizon settlement funds to advance engineering and design on six coastal restoration projects intended to restore for damages to Louisiana wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats; in addition to habitat on federally managed lands; and bird habitat:
  • Terrebonne Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project: Bayou Terrebonne Increment
  • Barataria Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project: Spanish Pass Increment
  • Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project: Increment One
  • Shoreline Protection at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
  • Queen Bess Island Restoration Project
  • Rabbit Island Restoration Project
"We are eager to implement this suite of projects to address rapid restoration of habitats along the Louisiana coast", says Michael Ellis, CPRA Executive Director. "This plan will be the first in a series of plans to restore the areas injured by the spill", Mr. Ellis adds.

The Trustees are accepting public comments on the draft plan through November 21, 2016. A final restoration plan will be released after review and consideration of public comments. The draft restoration plan can be accessed online at www.la-dwh.com or www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.

In total, over $5 billion from the Deepwater Horizon settlement has been allocated for restoration of natural resource damages in Louisiana over the next 15 years, including over $368 million in early restoration projects selected by the Trustees before the settlement. Some examples of early restoration projects that have been implemented or are currently in construction include marsh creation at Lake Hermitage, oyster cultch plantings, and barrier island restoration projects. More details on Louisiana's early restoration projects can be found at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/early-restoration.

The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group consists of the four Louisiana state agencies and five federal agencies responsible for identifying Deepwater Horizon natural resource restoration opportunities in Louisiana: the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority; the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality; the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office; the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; the United States Department of Commerce, represented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the United States Department of the Interior, represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service; the United States Department of Agriculture; and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Resources
Thank you again for your interest, and your support, of Restore or Retreat!

Sincerely,
Simone Maloz
Executive Director

John Lombardo
Outreach Coordinator