May 2015

The Conveyance Online
Restore or Retreat's E-newsletter
Restore or Retreat Executive Committee

Mike Plaisance, President

Plaisance Dragline and Dredging

 

Ted Falgout, VP

Ted M. Falgout and Associates

 

Robert Naquin, Treasurer

C21 Acadia Realty

 

Henri Boulet, Secretary

LA 1 Coalition

 

Tim Allen

Apache Louisiana Minerals

 

Charlotte Bollinger

Bollinger Shipyards

 

Berwick Duval

Duval, Funderburk, Sundbery, Lovell and Watkins

 

Dr. John J. Jones, Jr.

Jones Dermatology

Restore or Retreat Stats
ROR Created:
May 2000

Office:
Thibodaux, LA in the South LA Economic Council building at Nicholls State University

Membership:
Over 150 annual contributors (business, government and individuals)

Founding Members:
Roy Francis
Alex Plaisance
Charlotte Bollinger
Robert Naquin
Ted Falgout
Loulan Pitre

Executive Directors:
Lori LeBlanc 2000-2004
Simone Theriot Maloz
2005-Present

Presidents:
 Alex Plaisance 2000-2006
Lori LeBlanc 2007-2008
Charlotte Bollinger 2008 - 2009
Mike Plaisance 2009 - Present

MISSION STATEMENT:
Restore or Retreat (ROR) is a non-profit coastal advocacy  group created by coastal Louisiana residents and stakeholders who recognize that the Barataria and
Terrebonne basins are the two most rapidly eroding estuaries on earth, and that this erosion represents an economic and ecological crisis. 
With a membership of over 150 businesses and individuals, ROR seeks to identify and expedite the implementation of aggressive, large-scale restoration projects to protect this irreplaceable region.
Coastal Check in with CPRA Chair Chip Kline
Restore or Retreat welcomes Chip Kline as the incoming chair of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority and director of the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities. Kline was
born and raised in Louisiana, and is no stranger to those working in coastal Louisiana for the past several years.


We checked in with the LSU graduate, who has been working in the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities since nearly day one, to ask him a few coastal questions about where he thinks coastal Louisiana has been and where he thinks it is going.

ROR: You have worked in coastal Louisiana for awhile-- what is the biggest change or difference you have seen in coastal restoration from when you started in --- until now?

CK:When I returned to Louisiana to join the fight to save our coast in 2008, our plans were more conceptual than concrete.Now, we have a robust Master Plan that is very specific in listing the projects and programs we are pursuing-and we have
great results to show in the early stages of following the plan. Since 2007, we've secured approximately $18 billion in state and federal funding for protection and restoration projects. With those funds we have moved over 150 projects into design and construction. These projects have contributed to building or improving approximately 250 miles of levees, benefitting over
25,000 acres of coastal habitat, and constructing 45 miles of barrier islands and berms. We have made great progress, but
much more work still remains to be done.

ROR: What do you think is our biggest obstacle outside of coastal Louisiana?

CK:We cannot allow the perception to persist that the federal money sent after hurricanes Katrina and Rita has somehow "solved" Louisiana's hurricane vulnerability issues. Nor can we accept the story that BP has already "cleaned up" the Gulf and our coastal environment, as its TV commercials and news releases keep telling the world. And now, the president's budget has
suggested that offshore revenues promised to Louisiana in the 2006 GOMESA legislation are better spent on the nation as a whole and not on our coast. The reality is that our state, and our coast in particular, is absolutely essential to the nation, both
economically and environmentally. Our coast is a working coast, and when investments are made in the coast we are paying
to maintain access for the entire nation to one of the country's largest energy corridors, some of the biggest ports in the world,
one of the largest fisheries, and vital migratory bird habitat among other things. People need to recognize the severity of our
issues and the progress we are making on their behalf.

ROR: Where do you see coastal Louisiana in 10 years?

CK:We are at a crucial turning point for coastal Louisiana. We have more scientific information supporting our work than
ever before, we are moving into a phase of the program where we are implementing larger scale projects, we are preparing
to make crucial decisions on some of our other major restoration initiatives, and we seem to have a funding source that will provide for our work in the near to medium term. If we continue to follow the Master Plan (and its updates every five years), and continue to make wise investments with the funds we receive, we should have more coastal wetlands and land restored, more and stronger levees and flood gates, bigger and more resilient barrier islands, and a more sustainable ecosystem that will allow us to continue to live and work in our communities. Like everyone, in 10 years I want to see a prosperous Louisiana
where my children-and their children-can live, work and play.

Chairman Kline recently participated in a small group discussion with ROR leadership.

ROR Celebrates 15 years 
 
The birth of Restore or Retreat, Inc. (ROR) brought landowners, port commissions, parish governments, restoration advocates, levee experts, business owners and residents together for one purpose: to save our irreplaceable region.

From our inception in May 2000, ROR has advocated for such projects as freshwater and sediment diversions into the Barataria and Terrebonne Basins, marsh creation, shoreline and barrier island restoration, just to name a few. And through it all, we have called for heightened federal and state attention to the Barataria and Terrebonne Basins through multiple planning efforts, including the State Master Plan and post-spill planning efforts like RESTORE Act and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process.
 
Women of the Storm ROR Group
 
ROR Through the Years
Check out website for the comprehensive timeline of where we have been and where we hope to go!

 


Beneficial Use 3

THANK YOU for your tremendous support over the years--
we look forward to many more!

ROR in the Field

ROR participated in the first Give NOLA/Give Bayou event, including the Houma lunctime event.

ROR Outreach John Lombardo speaks to a donor at the Lafourche lunchtime Give NOLA/Give Bayou event.

ROR sponsored lunch, along with the LA 1 Coalition, for volunteers at the CCA-Shell Floating Island volunteer event in Leeville.
 
ROR visited Bayou Dupont, along with CPRA and Jefferson Parish leadership.
 
This project is creating 415 acres of land (the equivalent of 548 football fields.) Combined with the previously completed projects in the area, more than 2,430 football fields of land have been created using dredged sediment.
Restore or Retreat 2014 Report
ROR's 2014 Annual Report is now available online, and will be arriving in mailboxes soon!  Check out what we were up to last year!!


Quick Links
We are grateful for our supporters who allow us to continue working daily on saving this irreplaceable region!
 
Sincerely,

Simone Maloz

Executive Director

 

John Lombardo

Outreach Coordinator