ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 99
BY REPRESENTATIVES WHEAT, KERNER, AMEDEE, COX, DUBUISSON,
EDMONDS, FREEMAN, FREIBERG, FRIEMAN, GAROFALO, ILLG,
MCMAHEN, MINCEY, NELSON, NEWELL, ROBERT OWEN, PRESSLY,
RISER, THOMAS, THOMPSON, AND W RIGHT
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend and congratulate the Pontchartrain Conservancy, formerly known as the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, on thirty years of working towards environmental
sustainability and stewardship of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin through scientific
research, education, and advocacy.
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation was founded in 1989 by
scientists and community leaders, in response to concerns voiced throughout the basin, to
be the public's voice, dedicated to restoring and preserving the water quality, coastlines, and
habitats of the entire Pontchartrain Basin; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization consisting of a board of directors representing Basin parishes and state
regulatory agencies whose mission is to drive environmental sustainability and stewardship
through scientific research, education, and advocacy; and
WHEREAS, the Pontchartrain Basin comprises over ten thousand square miles of
land in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is one of the largest estuarine systems in
the Gulf of Mexico containing over twenty-two essential habitats and encompassing both
rural and urban land use in the most densely populated region in Louisiana, including metro
New Orleans and the state capital, Baton Rouge; and
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WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is the heart of the region's commercial and
recreational fisheries and the center of southeastern Louisiana's unique cultural heritage, and
the estuary's habitats provide important ecological, cultural, and economic benefits to the
entire region; and
WHEREAS, estuaries and coastal waters provide essential habitat for seventy-five
percent of America's commercial fish catch and eighty to ninety percent of the recreational
fish catch while at the same time, estuaries protect landowners from floodwaters and act as
storm buffers, guarding residential areas from hurricanes; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation's programs focus on
improving water quality to improve Lake Pontchartrain, coastal restoration in the
Pontchartrain Basin, and education of the public about the importance of the Pontchartrain
Basin to the economic and environmental health of the region; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is committed to studying,
evaluating, and sharing data related to water quality conditions and health, and it has been
instrumental in educating the public on water quality issues at both local and regional levels;
and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation's efforts were responsible for
the removal of Lake Pontchartrain and eight other local water bodies from the Clean Water's
Act, Section 303(d) Impaired Water Bodies List, allowing people to return to swimming and
recreational activities; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana is facing a coastal land loss crisis, and the Lake Pontchartrain
Basin Foundation has contributed efforts towards coastal restoration, including the planting
of over seventy-five thousand trees, the engineering behind the creation of new wetlands,
and a six-hundred acre delta; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has deployed thirteen artificial
reefs in the Pontchartrain Basin to help sustain and bolster oyster and other fisheries in the
region; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation reconstructed and restored the
New Canal Lighthouse on Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans after it was severely damaged
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, incorporating original wood from the 1890
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lighthouse that stood on the site, and now operates as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Foundation New Canal Lighthouse Museum and Education Center; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has elected to change its name
to the Pontchartrain Conservancy to better reflect its mission, as it has developed and
evolved over the past thirty years into an organization not only committed to restoring the
Lake, but also the entire Pontchartrain Basin region.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend and congratulate the Pontchartrain Conservancy, formerly the Lake Pontchartrain
Basin Foundation, on thirty years of working towards environmental sustainability and
stewardship of the Pontchartrain Basin through scientific research, education, and advocacy.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
executive director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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