swamp wars - Atchafalaya Basinkeeper

SWAMP WARS:
THE FIGHT FOR THE
ATCHAFALAYA BASIN
Annual Report
for the year 2014
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground;
they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the
ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may
be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both.
But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a
demand; it never has and it never will.
Frederick Douglass
A Word from Your Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Each year Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (ABK) is stronger as an
organization than the year before. Today we have over 870 members and business sponsors, a 30% increase from the year before.
Thank you! It is the support of members, sponsors, volunteers, our
partner organizations, and a few generous foundations and environmentally responsible corporations that allows us to keep up
the fight to protect Atchafalaya wetlands and Louisiana’s cypress
forests.
We are just borrowing everything we have today from
future generations, as stewards of a planet that should be left as
beautiful, productive, and diverse as the one we inherited from our
parents. The Atchafalaya Basin is something that nobody else has,
and it cannot be replaced or recreated anywhere else in the world.
We have a moral duty to make sure that our kids and grandkids get
to experience this amazing treasure in a way that is as good as or
better than what it is today—a profoundly challenging objective.
If you are an attorney and want to get involved in our mounting
legal struggles, please let us know. The Atchafalaya Basin and our
coastal wetland forests need you. If you know any attorneys who
may want to be involved, please let us know.
You can now support ABK as a sustaining member by signing up online for automatic weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual
donations. For information about becoming a sustaining member,
please go to our website (www.basinkeeper.org) or call Cara at:
(225)685-9439.
Thank you all for taking a stand in this epic battle to protect
our very special corner of this planet.
For Our Children,
Dean A. Wilson
2014 Atchafalaya Awards
On January 25, 2015, Becky and John Williams, owners
of Pack & Paddle (Lafayette), Judith Gardner, and Stacey Scarce
earned honors for their work protecting Louisiana’s wetlands and
the Atchafalaya Basin during the year 2014 and before.
Becky and John Williams of Pack & Paddle received the thirdever Super Swamper Award from Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
engraved with the following: “Super Swamper Award. To John
and Becky Williams, owners of Pack & Paddle, with tremendous
gratitude for their commitment to save what is left of Louisiana’s
wetlands and the Atchafalaya Basin. You are Super Swampers
and you are our heroes.”
Pack and Paddle has helped ABK raise thousands of dollars over the years and sponsors two fundraising canoe trips for
ABK every year. John and Becky serve on the ABK Board of
Trustees.
The following was etched on Judith Gardner’s Atchafalaya Angel Award: “With eternal gratitude to Judith Z. Gardner
for years of selfless devotion to protect Louisiana’s wetlands and
the Atchafalaya Basin. You are our hero and you are one of God’s
most beautiful Angels!”
Judith is a longtime ABK member and has volunteered
for the last five years sending out thank-you letters and thank-you
gifts, helping with mailings, and tree planting projects. She and
her partner, John, donate the paper, ink, stamps, and other supplies used for mailing the thank-you letters.
The following was etched on Stacey Scarce’s Atchafalaya
Angel Award: “With eternal gratitude to Stacey Scarce for her
constant smile, love of nature, and all her work helping protect
Louisiana’s wetlands and the Atchafalaya Basin. You are our
hero and you are one of God’s most beautiful Angels!”
Stacey Scarce serves on ABK’s Board of Trustees and has
helped educate thousands of students over the years about our
natural world, wetlands and the Atchafalaya Basin. She has led
countless hiking and canoe trips into Louisiana’s last wild places
including all canoe trips organized by Pack and Paddle for ABK.
In Memoriam – Griff Blakewood (1960-2014)
Basinkeeper member and promoter Griff Blakewood died
on Monday May 26, 2014, at the age of 54. Love, peace, humility,
and incredible strength of character are some of the words that describe Griff. He will be forever missed and is ever in our hearts.
In the summer of 2013 Griff gave Cara and me a tour of downtown Lafayette. As we walked by Artmosphere the owner, Beryl,
happened to be working outside and Griff introduced us to her. At
that time, Beryl offered to help organize a fundraising event for
ABK. In January 2015 the first Save the Basin event took place,
helping ABK raise over $14,000. Even after his passing, Griff
continues giving. Thank you, dear friend!
From left: ABK Trustee Stacey Scarce, Griff Blakewood, Aramis Wilson, Cara Leverett, and Dean Wilson.
Atchafalaya Basin: Overall Status
The major threats to the long-term integrity of the Atchafalaya Basin’s ecosystems are oil and gas industry activities, poor
water quality, excessive sediment, unsustainable cypress logging,
and widespread illegal development of wetlands; much of this is a
result of lack of enforcement of environmental easements and our
environmental laws.
Illegal Development of Wetlands
ABK persists with lawsuits challenging illegal wetland
development and the Corps of Engineers’ policy of rewarding environmental criminals with after-the-fact permits. ABK continues
working hard to stop further construction of roads through wetlands along the I-10 corridor by constantly monitoring for violations. We are also encouraging oil companies and landowners to
correct past damages caused by unpermitted activities in wetlands
that are supposed to be protected by environmental easements.
The Fight for the Maurepas Basin
ABK and the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper lawsuit
against an illegal cypress logging operation in the Maurepas Basin was settled out of court in July of 2014.
ABK first complained to Army Corps of Engineers officials about the logging operations of Calvin Howell on land north
of the Laurel Ridge Levee in Ascension Parish in 2006. Aided by
aerial inspections facilitated by SouthWings, the groups presented
aerial photographs to the Corps that documented Howell cutting
down trees and building logging roads without the proper permits.
The Corps issued a cease-and-desist order to Howell in 2007 for
violating provisions of the Clean Water Act that prohibit adding
pollutants to waterways, but did not fine the company. The pollutants in this case included the sediment and debris resulting from
clear-cutting the cypress trees.
The fact that no fines or restoration orders were issued by
the government encourages more illegal logging, and the lack of
fines prompted the two groups to file suit against Howell under
provisions of the Clean Water Act that allow citizens, including
non-profit organizations, to go to court to enforce the law.
As part of the settlement Howell will have to pay attorney’s fees and $33,000 to Southeastern Louisiana University’s
Manchac/Maurepas Bald Cypress Restoration Project. The money
will pay for the planting of 3,000 “nutria-proofed” cypress saplings in the Maurepas Basin.
The settlement is a much-needed victory toward preserving the iconic cypress tree in South Louisiana. Howell cut trees
that were over 100 years old in an area that will not regenerate.
The illegal roads devastated the hydrology of the area, affecting
other landowners. The clear-cut enabled the growth of invasive
species, seriously affecting the ecology of the area.
For now there is no logging in the Maurepas Basin and
the State of Louisiana is buying land with money from different
sources to permanently protect wetlands from further devastation.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES IN 2014
In 2014, with help from our Board of Directors, our Board
of Trustees, and many of our members, ABK managed to increase
its membership to over 870 members (up from 670 members this
time last year), and about 45% of our annual budget came from
memberships, business sponsorships, and other direct donations
(including fundraising). The other 55% of our budget came from
the generous support of foundations and grant-making agencies.
We are very thankful for the support of our foundations, members, and sponsors for making ABK’s work possible in 2014 and
beyond!
Injection Well Facility Expansion near Belle River
F.A.S. Environmental Services is attempting to expand its
injection well facility near the community of Belle River. With
millions of gallons of fracking waste ready to be shipped down
the Mississippi River into Louisiana, we are going to fight to ensure that the Atchafalaya Basin does not end up as a waste dump.
Despite the St. Martin Parish Council’s recent rejection
of a rezoning request from F.A.S., the company has applied for a
permit to build a transfer station for produced waters and fracking waste in the Atchafalaya Basin. According to the company’s
permit application with DNR, F.A.S. expects to handle an average
of 175,000 barrels of exploration and production waste each
month (over 5.5 million gallons). The company estimates 99%
will be “produced waters” or waste from processes ranging from
conventional drilling to hydraulic fracturing. If approved, the permit would also allow the company “to accept other types of waste,
such as completion fluids, freshwater, rainwater, washout water,
washout pit water, gas plant water liquids, pipeline wastewater
and commercial facility waste.” The application also states
that the waste can include or create hydrogen sulfide gas, known
for its rotten-egg smell, which is poisonous and can cause cancer.
The Atchafalaya Basin is among the most important
natural assets in southern Louisiana and should be preserved for
generations to come. It contains the largest and most productive swamps in North America. The Belle River area is the most
productive in the entire Basin. It is home to the highest concentration of southern bald eagle nests in the world. Also, bird watching itself has an economic impact of $107 billion a year in the
U.S., and this area of the Basin is one of the best places in North
America for bird watching. Expanding industries such as F.A.S.
will surely cause further damage to Louisiana’s natural heritage,
as well as eco-tourism in the area.
F.A.S. Environmental Services is not the kind of company
anyone wants as a neighbor. In 2012 the manager of the F.A.S. facility was convicted of illegally pumping more than 380,000 gallons of industrial waste into the injection well at Belle River. The
company has over 160 trucking violations and 14 enforcement
actions from the Coast Guard including 13 Notices of Violation
and 1 administrative penalty.
ABK has worked very hard to uncover all of the violations
related to this company and we will do whatever we can to stop
the company’s plans for expansion.
We want to thank St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier and the St. Martin Parish Council for having the courage to
openly oppose DNR’s permit to F.A.S. We also want to note that
the community of Belle River strongly opposes the facility expansion and has put a great deal of organized effort into stopping the
permit. It has been a pleasure working with the Belle River community, many of whom are Basinkeeper members.
Our Struggle Against Big Oil Continues
Shell’s attempts to obtain a permit to lay a pipeline along
an illegally-built pipeline canal ended when the company withdrew its permit application. Shell already has a pipeline along the
same right-of-way, a project that is completely out-of-compliance
with the original permit. We commend the Corps of Engineers
for not issuing this permit. Permits should never be issued to the
same environmental criminals when the Corps will not and cannot
enforce the terms of the permits, partly because the enforcement
department does not even own a boat.
Oil Spills
The ORB Exploration oil spill that took place in January
2013 was bigger than the original estimated 5,000 gallons of oil.
In the worst case, the discharge was 10,000 gallons. ABK discovered the spill and after a thorough investigation we determined
that ORB was trying to cover up the spill, which had not been
reported to the Coast Guard as required by federal law.
ORB was at it again last year. An ongoing oil spill covered
parts of Lake Dauterive with a sheen in February 2014. Local
fishermen reported the problem to the manager of the oil field and
he responded that they did not know where the oil was coming
from and could not do anything about it. The same fishermen
allegedly reported the problem to the State Police, who took no
action. ABK reported the oil spill to the Coast Guard on February 19, 2014. The same day, ABK reported two additional oil
spills, one by the same company at their Frog Lake Oil Field and
another by Pharaoh Oil at the Bayou Sorrel Shell Field facility.
Pharaoh Oil was dumping oil from old, abandoned oil tanks and
old pipelines into our wetlands, instead of disposing of the oil
correctly as required by law. Pharaoh Oil was fined by the Coast
Guard and both companies were made to clean up the spills.
Oil Companies Threaten ABK
On February 24, 2014, the manager of the Frog Lake Oil
Field approached ABK Director Dean Wilson and threatened to
drown him. He also told Dean that he believed that Dean was
looking for trouble because every time he reports anything “to the
feds”, the federal government pays him or his organization. Dean
explained that this was not true (neither Dean nor ABK receives
money from the government for reporting activities), to which
the manager responded by calling Dean a liar and concluded the
exchange with a final threat to Mr. Wilson of: “Watch out…”
because now there are lots of people that “…have it in for you.”
The oil field manager is also apparently going around telling
people that Dean is a trouble-maker. You can read the letter sent
by our attorney David Brown to ORB Exploration on our web
site: www.basinkeeper.org.
On Thursday April 17th at about 8:45 AM Dean received
new threats from the manager of the Bayou Sorrel Shell Field,
owner of Amphibious Marine, that contracts with Pharaoh Oil and
Gas, Inc. He called Dean “a damn foreigner” (Dean is Americanborn and grew up in Spain) and a trouble-maker, telling him that
he does not belong here and that he needed to go back to wher-
ever he came from. He also told Dean that he has no business
telling Americans how to do their business and that if he saw him
again navigating the canals, he was going to beat him up, that it
would be “…just you and me” and that he would then have him
arrested for trespassing. He also invited him to send a complaint
letter to company headquarters and that it was not going to make
a difference. Talking to our sources we also found out that, like
the Frog Lake Oil Field manager, he is inciting oil workers to
take action against Dean and that he is also planning to sabotage
swamp tours by telling tourists doing a swamp tour with Dean or
his son that he is a trouble maker and a liar, among other things.
As an apparent result of all this, Dean and Cara’s mail box is repeatedly knocked down and their garbage is dumped all over the
road. Dean Wilson and several ABK board members met with the
Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Department and received helpful advice
about handling threatening situations in an effective and legal
manner.
Monitoring and Enforcement Program
Our Swamp Shield Camapign (formerly the Save Our Cypress Campaign) to protect our cypress forests from further
destruction was effective in 2014, with only two illegal cypress
logging operations in coastal Louisiana. Both were in the Atchafalaya Basin and were stopped by the Corps after we spotted the
violations during a joint ABK and Delta Chapter of the Sierra
Club monitoring flight provided by SouthWings. One of the illegal loggers was waiting for an after-the-fact permit from the
Corps and was logging after they had been issued a cease-anddesist order and was doing so during high water, which is against
best management practices. To date, that after-the-fact permit has
not been granted. With the help of SouthWings, we fly as necessary to monitor for illegal cypress logging, pollution, and illegal
development of wetlands. Further monitoring is done by water
and land and we respond to complaints by fishermen and other
concerned individuals about potential violations.
In 2014, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (ABK) and Delta
Chapter of the Sierra Club conducted five monitoring flights and
reviewed all permits and permit applications for work in wetlands
in the New Orleans District of the Corps of Engineers.
Legal Actions
The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (New Orleans) offers a tremendous amount of support. The attorneys working for
Tulane are so committed to creating a better Louisiana that in
many cases they work after hours, traveling great distances to
make sure that our swamps and wetlands survive another day,
another year, another generation. We are also very grateful for
all the hard work and assistance provided by attorneys Gordon
Schoeffler and Buzzy Joy from Joseph Joy and Associates (Lafayette), Robert Wiygul from the Waltzer and Wiygul Law Firm
(New Orleans) and attorney David Brown (Baton Rouge).
It is only after exhausting all other possibilities that ABK
takes legal action, an act of last resort and always a sign of failure
by our State and Federal agencies to uphold their obligations to
enforce our environmental laws and to protect the best interests of
the public and the nation. Before any legal action is taken, ABK
goes to great lengths to investigate the situation, to report the violations, and to do whatever is in our power to help our agencies
to do their jobs. The way the laws are now enforced, the penaltyis greater for keeping an undersized bass than for illegally
damming a bayou or damaging hundreds of acres of wetlands
without a permit.
At this time we are actively pursuing six legal actions (see
descriptions below) — two related to illegal roads and dams, two
against the Corps, one regarding the illegal development of wetlands in Fisher Lake, and one for an ongoing oil spill.
Bayou Postillion: Although ABK lost the suit against the State
of Louisiana for using public funds to canalize Bayou Postillion
to the benefit of the oil industry, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Trustee
Dan Collins continues with his whistleblower lawsuit against the
State of Louisiana for the same violations.
Taylor Oil Spill: ABK, together with the Waterkeeper Alliance,
Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Galveston Baykeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Louisiana Bayoukeeper, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
and LEAN, is suing the Coast Guard for failure to provide public documents related to Taylor Energy’s oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico, ongoing since 2004. Most oil spills in the Gulf have not
incurred fines.
Illegal Cypress Logging—Lake Maurepas: The lawsuit was
settled out of court. As part of the settlement Howell will have to
pay attorney’s fees and $33,000 to Southeastern Louisiana University’s Manchac/Maurepas Bald Cypress Restoration Project.
The money will pay for the planting of 3,000 “nutria-proofed”
cypress saplings in the Maurepas Basin. Please see “The Battle
for Lake Maurepas” above for more information.
Bayou Duquesne—Illegal Dam and Log Jams: The Notice of
Violation we filed regarding the damming of Bayou Duquesne
helped solve the problem. The dam was removed and we will
be working with the landowner to find a way to have the logs
removed from the bayou. Bayou Duquesne is part of the Atchafalaya Basin’s canoe trail system.
Illegal Roads and Dams Along I-10: Two elevated roads and
dams built east to west along I-10, both north and south of the
interstate, along with the huge tank battery installation, were constructed by an oil company without permits and/or using fraudulent permits, and they were built on wetlands that are supposed
to be protected by the Corps’ environmental easements. To make
matters worse, the Corps refuses to enforce the law and is giving
after-the-fact permits to this environmental offender in an effort
to help make the dams, roads and platforms legal.
We filed a Notice of Violation and managed to stop (for
now) the illegal damming of East Branch Brown Bayou and the
illegal westward expansion of the northern road along I-10. If
our efforts fail to prompt federal agencies to enforce the environmental easements and federal law, we are considering a lawsuit
against the landowner, the oil company, or both. We filed a Notice
of Violation against the Corps for unlawfully issuing a permit to
legitimize the illegally built roads and dams on wetlands protected by environmental easements. More lawsuits against the
Corps for issuing after-the-fact permits will be filed as necessary
to protect the wetlands.
Fisher Lake Lawsuits: Together with LCPA-West, ABK took
legal action against another illegal developer in the Basin after
multiple failed attempts to get the Corps to take action. The Corps
responded by giving an after-the-fact permit to the developer and
conducted an evaluation based on the developer’s own false data
to justify the permit. ABK complained to the head of the Corps’
permitting department, without results. In the next step, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, LCPA-West, and LEAN—represented by the
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic—filed suit against the Corps,
challenging the Corps’ issuance of after-the-fact permits for the
development of Atchafalaya Basin wetlands. By issuing after-thefact permits, the Corps facilitates destructive behavior—sending
the message that it is easier to seek forgiveness than permission.
Such permits encourage the degradation of wetlands, precious
and endangered natural resources that are critical to the livelihood
and culture of many Louisianans.
The challenged permits have the effect of validating
prior unpermitted activity. Seeking to replace natural wetlands
with a private duck pond, developers dug a ditch more than two
miles long through wetlands, drained the water out of a lake, and
installed a dam and metal water-control devices to artificially
control the flow and level of water—all without obtaining permits
required by the Clean Water Act. These actions alter the hydrology of over 700 acres of lake and forested hardwood swamp in the
Atchafalaya Basin in an area designated as critical habitat for the
Louisiana black bear and they block access to the area by sport
and commercial fishermen. By granting after-the-fact permits, the
Corps dismisses the Clean Water Act and rationalizes the unpermitted activities of the developer.
The Fisher Lake lawsuit against the Corps for giving
after-the-fact permits to environmental offenders is ongoing.
The magistrate gave the Corps time to review the permit and the
Corps used the opportunity to try to clean up the record and then
reissued the permit to the new landowner (The previous landowner sold the land). In addition, the lawsuit against the landowner
for damming and dredging Bayou Cane and draining Fisher Lake
without a permit is pending the outcome of our lawsuit against
the Corps.
Corps of Engineers Versus the Environment—Update
“Regulatory capture is a form of political corruption that
occurs when a regulatory agency, created to act in the public
interest, instead advances the commercial or special concerns of
interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged
with regulating. Regulatory capture is a form of government
failure; it creates an opening for firms to behave in ways injurious
to the public (e.g., producing negative externalities). The agencies
are called captured agencies.”—from Wikipedia.org
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the main federal
agency enforcing the two federal laws that protect streams, lakes,
and wetlands. But for whom does the Corps of Engineers really
work—the public, the environment, future generations, or a privileged few?
Here are some updated facts:To enforce the law regarding
illegal wetland development and permit compliance, the New Orleans District of the Corps (encompassing all of coastal Louisiana
and the Atchafalaya Basin) now employs 0 enforcers (down from
2) and now they have only 11 people working in the Regulatory
Department. Furthermore, the Regulatory Department still does
not even own a boat. They still use the violator’s or permit applicant’s boat or vehicle to inspect sites but they still refuse to ride
with fishermen or NGOs to inspect sites. In other words, it is unethical to inspect the crime scene with the victim, but not with the
criminal. The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic has sent several
letters to the Corps, complaining about this policy. To date, these
letters remain unanswered.
In addition, the Corps still refuses to take action against
certain gross violations of federal law and environmental easements, protecting the violators. However, as soon as the fishermen and ABK take legal action to confront the illegal developers,
the Corps protects the violators by issuing a cease-and-desist
order, followed by an after-the-fact permit.
By contrast, to manage the 27,000-acre Indian Bayou
Area, it seems that the Corps is well-armed against the fishermen. They have eleven enforcement agents and multiple vessels
including an airboat, mud boat, large patrol boat, and a 21-foot
patrol boat. As you can see, when it comes to enforcing the law
against regular citizens and fishermen the Corps has plenty of
funding and seemingly limitless resources. It’s no wonder we are
losing the Atchafalaya Basin at an alarming rate!
“We had the thing like nobody else has”—
Wilmer Blanchard, Cajun fisherman.
The above quote refers to the majesty of Atchafalaya
Basin before sedimentation began to fill in wetlands and waterways. The Corps’ policy is to divert up to 65% of the Mississippi
River sediment load into the Atchafalaya Basin. Over time, the
Corps has realigned all of the main rivers and bayous that feed
the Basin’s swamps, maximizing the sediment load moving into
our wetlands, effectively silting up thousands of acres of swamps,
lakes and bayous.
Although the Atchafalaya Basin has been much degraded,
we still have something that no one else has and we believe that it
is worth protecting and restoring for our children’s natural heritage. ABK is committed to doing whatever is in our power to
hold our government accountable and put an end to its pattern of
unethical decisions relating to violations of our environment. Our
future, our children, and our Basin are counting on us to succeed.
Education & Outreach Program
In 2014, ABK directly connected with over 1000 people
through PowerPoint presentations, paddling trips, swamp tours,
tree planting events, workshops, and meetings, educating them
about the Atchafalaya Basin, wetland ecology, the importance
of and threats to Louisiana’s forested wetlands, and applying
the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act to protect
wetlands. ABK staff and volunteers introduced 35 people to the
beauty of the Atchafalaya Basin through two educational paddling
trips, sponsored by Pack and Paddle, into the swamp. ABK staff,
board members, and volunteers, in coordination with the LSU
Ag Center’s Youth Wetlands Program, conducted one studentcentered tree-planting event at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
in Iberia Parish, involving local middle school and high school
students.
Atchafalaya Basin Stewardship and Community
Empowerment Program
On April 22, 2014, ABK and LCPA-West held a fishermen’s meeting in Belle River and over 200 fishermen attended.
During and after the meeting 70 of those fishermen joined ABK
for the first time. No single group of people in Louisiana are
affected more by illegal development of wetlands and blocking access to navigable waters of the U.S. than the Atchafalaya
Basin’s commercial fishermen. To have all their voices united for
change is critical if we are to win the struggle to save what is left
of the Atchafalaya Basin for future generations. By joining ABK,
all of these fishermen now have a voice as well as more muscle to
defend their livelihoods and their way of life. Their membership
gives ABK strong standing in court when legal action becomes
necessary. It is as important to defend the Cajun culture as it is
the environment in which they have traditionally earned their
livelihood. Years ago, the Cajun culture lost part of its identity
when the native language was eliminated. It would double the
tragedy if these people were to lose their ability to make a living
from the woods and waters of the Atchafalaya as they traditionally have done. To have something that nobody else has is to have
an exceptional environment plus a culture that is equally unique.
To all of our new members, we want to say THANK YOU and
welcome to the front lines of protecting the Basin for your children and grandchildren! Remember, we still have “…the thing
that nobody else has.”
At Artmosphere in Lafayette, 2014 Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Award-winners
and ABK staff. Back row, from left to right: Cara Leverett (ABK staff scientist), John Williams (owner Pack and Paddle, ABK Trustee, Super Swamper
award), Dean Wilson (Director ABK); front row, from left to right: Judith Z.
Gardner (ABK volunteer, Atchafalaya Angel award), Stacey Scarce (Curator
of Lafayette Nature Station, ABK Trustee, Atchafalaya Angel award), Becky
Williams (owner Pack and Paddle, ABK Trustee, Super Swamper award).
Thank You, Basinkeeper Business Sponsors!
Acadiana Fishermen’s Co-op, Henderson
Acadiana Science of Mind
Acadian Orchid Society, Lafayette
Artmosphere, Lafayette
Atchafalaya Honey LLC, Plaquemine
Bobby’s Auto Repair, Krotz Springs
Boutin’s: A Cajun Music & Dining Experience, Baton Rouge
Breaux Bridge Sales & Finance, Breaux Bridge
Catahoula Crawfish Inc., St. Martinville
CC Lockwood, Cactus Clyde Productions, Baton Rouge
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, Charenton
Complete Home Health, Lafayette
DeGravelles, Palmintier, Holthaus & Fruge LLP, Attorneys at
Law, Baton Rouge
Environmental Design, Breaux Bridge
Harrell & Nowak, LLC, New Orleans
Delta Chapter Sierra Club, Louisiana
Great Harvest Bread Company, Lafayette
Greg Guirard Photography, Catahoula
Healthy Water and Coastal Restoration Group of the Society
of the Sacred Heart, New Orleans
Hayes Fisheries, Henderson
ITWired, Greenwell Springs
Joseph Joy & Associates, Lafayette
Lamar Advertising, Reilly Family Foundation, Baton Rouge
Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Baton Rouge
Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper, Baton Rouge
Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West, St. Martin
Parish
McGee’s Landing, Henderson
No Water No Life, New York, NY
Pack & Paddle, Lafayette
Patagonia Clothing Company
Quapaw Canoe Company, Clarksdale, MS
S & D Bait, Pierre Part
SouthWings, Asheville, NC; New Orleans
St. Martin Pharmacy, St. Martinville
Swamp Things, Henderson
Sweet Cecilia, Cecilia
Trees on Fire, Virginia
UnitarianChurch of Baton Rouge
Vanguard Company, Texas
Become a Member or a Sponsor
Join or sponsor us online at:
www.basinkeeper.org
Send your check or money order to:
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
P.O. Box 410
Plaquemine, LA 70765
Thank you for your support!
ABK would like to thank the following individuals for volunteering their time and/or resources: the folks at SouthWings, especially Meredith Dowling and pilots David Mauritson, Lance Rydberg, and Jerry Kirby; John and Becky Williams & Rachel Adams
of Pack and Paddle; Greg Guirard; David Brown; Machelle Hall,
Adam Babich, Lisa Jordan, Liza Calderon, Corinne Van Dalen,
and the student attorneys at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic;
Gordon Schoeffler; Buzzy Joy; Robert Wiygul; Chris Ventre; Stacey Scarce; Jody Meche; Dan Collins; Judith Z. Gardner and John
Guillory; Milton Daigle; Anik Boudreau and Faren Serrette; Diana
Toledo of River Network; the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Board of
Directors and Board of Trustees; Senator Fred Mills, Jr.; Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette; St. Martin Parish President Guy
Cormier; Hollis Simpson of Uncle Johnny’s; Deborah Monlux of
Bayou N Brooklyn; Sandra Crochet, Linda Cooke, and all of the
volunteers that have helped with mailouts; and all of the members
and business sponsors whose generosity makes our work possible.
We also thank the musicians that volunteered at the first-annual
Save the Basin Event: Sweet Cecilia, Yvette Landry, Drew Landry,
Faren Serrette, Philip Allemond, Vermont’s Easy Street, & Becca
Begnaud. Thank you to the artists that donated to the Save the
Basin Event: David Chauvin, Greg Guirard, CC Lockwood, Dana
Manly, Roslyn Bernard, Ernie Bernard, Bill Tally, Stacey Scarce,
Gray Carruth, Lue Svendson, David Duhon, & Cara Leverett. We
are extremely grateful to Faren Serrette for putting immense
effort into building the beautiful pirogue that we auctioned
for the Save the Basin Event! The Save the Basin event would
not have been possible without the generosity and support of Beryl
Kemp of Artmosphere, Victoria Jean, Anik Boudreau, Stacey
Scarce, Tricia Hunt, Silvia Wilson, Albert Wilson, and Derra Leonard. Tremendous gratitude goes to Greg Guirard for his herculean
efforts to increase members, sponsors, and donors.
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper could not continue to operate without the generous support that we receive from several environmentally conscious and responsible foundations and corporations. Thank you!
Thank you, Lamar Advertising, for continuing to donate billboard space.
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How Can You Help?
Don’t buy cypress mulch!
Renew your membership, donate, and attend events.
Become a Business Sponsor.
The way you spend your money makes a big differene. Do
business with Basinkeeper Sponsors.
Spread the word. Talk about the issues.
Encourage others to join ABK in the fight to save the Basin.
Invite Basinkeeper to do a presentation for your civic or school
group.
Don’t support businesses that use or sell cypress mulch.
Volunteer.
Report possible violations in Atchafalaya wetlands and
waterways by calling: 225-685-9439.
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Staff
•Dean A. Wilson, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper & Executive Director
•Cara Leverett, Staff Scientist/ Basinkeeper Assistant
Contact Information ~ Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Main: 225-685-9439
Dean, cell: 225-692-4114
basinkeeper@gmail.com
www.basinkeeper.org
P.O. Box 410
Plaquemine, LA 70765
Cut & send reverse with your check or
money order to join, sponsor or renew.
You may also renew, join or sponsor
online: www.basinkeeper.org
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS
Student.......................................................$15
Basic Membership..............................$30-$49
Commercial Fisherman...........................$20+
Family Membership.................................$55+
Supporter............................................$50-$99
Swamper..........................................$100-$499
Guardian.........................................$500-$999
Steward.................................................$1000+
Title, Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone
E-mail
Please check one:
New Member/Sponsor Renewing Member/Sponsor
BUSINESS SPONSORSHIPS
Business/ Organization Name
Owner/Contact Name
Phone
Address
City, State, Zip
E-mail
Amount of Contribution $_________________________
Please make your tax-deductible check payable to:
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
P.O. Box 410, Plaquemine, LA 70765
OR RENEW ONLINE: www.basinkeeper.org
Phone: (225)685-9439 E-mail: basinkeeper@gmail.com
Website: www.basinkeeper.org