Future of the Gulf Coast depends on each of us

Dierdre A. Badeaux
June 14, 2011
Thursday, June 16
June 16, 2011
Dierdre A. Badeaux
June 14, 2011
Thursday, June 16
June 16, 2011

Dear Editor,


Father’s Day is a time not only to allow dear old dad some well-deserved napping on the couch, but also to reflect on the things that sustain family, the quality time we spend together and the value of the efforts we put forth to support our family’s needs.

Last year’s BP oil disaster put both of those things at risk for me and for others in my community. This year is especially significant for me as I recently became a father of a bouncing baby boy.


If there’s one thing I want for Father’s Day, it’s for the environment we live in and depend upon to be restored, both for my family today and for my children’s families tomorrow.


Growing up in Houma, my step-father used to take me fishing and hunting all across the Gulf, and I look forward to the days when I get to take my son and stepsons fishing and hunting in the same places.

This is also an area that many of my friends depend on for work. From tourism and local restaurants to commercial fishing and shipping, the Mississippi River Delta’s ecosystem is the bedrock of our local economy; it brings us together and it sustains our way of life.


This way of life, our community and local economy were all impacted directly by the BP oil disaster, which brought with it a time of economic hardship here and throughout the Gulf region. Restoration of these Gulf ecosystems has yet to begin in earnest.


Under the Clean Water Act, BP and other parties responsible for the spill are liable to pay fines, money that could go directly to restoring the communities, ecosystems and economies directly and indirectly damaged by the nearly 5 million barrels of oil that seeped into our surrounding waters.

But without action by Congress, these fines will be deposited into a trust fund for future oil spills or into the Federal Treasury.

It’s only fair this money go where it’s needed now and to the region impacted by this disaster.

The Gulf currently supports a $34 billion a year tourism industry, and its fisheries bring in an estimated $22.6 billion in annual revenue generated by seafood, commercial and recreational fishing related activities. Restoration will ensure that the region continues to be an economic engine for the country and for the communities here in the Gulf.

This Father’s Day, I urge our leaders in Congress to remember how important this land is, not only to our economy and to our communities at large, but also to the well being of individual families.

The Gulf ecosystems are our backyards where our families play out to the marsh shallows where we catch all of those reds and specs.

For all these reasons, Congress must get together and pass legislation that will help us recover and restore the environment that sustains our families and keeps alive the traditions that are so important to our way of life.

Christopher Pulaski,

Coastal Louisiana Organizer National Wildlife Federation