Judy Ledet
May 14, 2007Jill Lyons
May 16, 2007
Restore and Retreat, a local coastal advocacy group, has elected new leaders in its attempt to intensify the focus on the large-scale restoration of the Barataria and Terrebonne basins.
Lori LeBlanc, a former ROR executive director and a two-year executive committee member, has been selected to serve as the organization’s new president. LeBlanc succeeds Alex J. Plaisance Jr., who has served as the organization’s president since 2000.
Plaisance said he intends to spend more time with family and friends following his retirement, but still plans to serve as a member emeritus of ROR’s executive committee.
“I am honored to take the helm from Alex and I look forward to aggressively pursuing large scale restoration projects for the Barataria & Terrebonne basins along with our entire Board of Directors and Executive Director Simone Maloz,” LeBlanc said.
Also elected were Charlotte Bollinger (vice president), Robert Naquin (treasurer) and Henri Boulet (secretary). Berwick Duval, Loulan Pitre Jr. and Jerome Zeringue round out the executive committee, along with newly appointed members Ted Falgout, Dr. John Jones and Mike Plaisance.
The ROR executive committee has renewed its focus on the organization’s mission, LeBlanc said. The newly defined role is to identify and expedite the implementation of aggressive, large-scale restoration projects, such as the Third Delta Conveyance Channel, for the Barataria and Terrebonne Basins.
According to ROR officials, the group has also extended its public support for near-term restoration proposals, such as pipeline delivery of sediment to the sediment-starved regions of these basins, which are now experiencing the highest rate of coastal land loss in the world.
Restore or Retreat has recommended that the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority include a federal feasibility study of the Third Delta, coupled with the near-term strategy of pipeline slurry, in its master and annual plans now being considered by the Louisiana Legislature.
“The task before us is critical. We are talking life or death of our region if our state and federal government do not act quickly on significant restoration initiatives that will stem the tide of land loss,” Falgout said. “I am proud that ROR is leading the call and pleased to be part of that effort.”
Falgout is one of the founding members of ROR, the executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission and chairman of the LA 1 Coalition. He has been a member of ROR’s Board of Directors since its inception and has actively championed the call for large-scale restoration of our region, most recently pushing for improved implementation of the Davis Pond Diversion Project.
Jones is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Jones-Mora Dermatology. He has offices in Thibodaux and Raceland. Serving on the group’s Board of Directors, he has been an active ROR member for many years.
“As a longtime supporter, I am eager to join the other dedicated and committed executive committee members to further extend the great and noble mission of ROR to another level within the state and community,” Jones said.
Plaisance, of Plaisance Dragline and Dredging in Golden Meadow, said he is honored to be a part of a dedicated and talented group of people whose collective voice calls for effective coastal restoration.
“ROR has always been about long-term restoration like the Third Delta, which I believe is the ultimate answer,” Plaisance explained. “Katrina and Rita opened everyone’s eyes to the vulnerability of our coastline, so I feel ROR has the opportunity to extend its reach on a larger scale.”
