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Adams and Reese Partner Mark Spansel has been selected as a member of Greater New Orleans Inc.’s newly-formed Coalition for Coastal Resilience and Economy (CCRE), a business-led coalition that will create an educated, informed voice of advocacy for sustainable restoration efforts in Louisiana’s wetlands, rivers, deltas, and coastline.

“The Coalition for Coastal Resilience and Economy provides Louisiana with its last, best chance of victory in the battle against the erosion of our coast,” said Spansel. “By holding our ground and advancing our cause, our state will not only protect its citizens and their businesses, but will also foster a whole new industry around coastal restoration and flood protection. I am proud to be part of such a critical mission.”

 

Members of the CCRE include a diverse group of CEOs and executives from the Greater New Orleans region, Baton Rouge and Terrebonne – Lafourche regions, including the Coalition Chair Marty Mayer, President & CEO, Stirling Properties; Rita Benson LeBlanc, Owner/Vice Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans; Donna Fraiche, Founding Member of Baker Donelson’s Louisiana offices, Former Board Member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority; Fran Gladden, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, Cox Communications Southeast Region; Jay Lapeyre, CEO, Laitram, LLC; among others.

“Partnerships such as these allow the state to engage business interests and other stakeholders so that we can work together to achieve our goals of restoring and protecting this valuable resource, coastal Louisiana,” said Jerome Zeringue, Executive Director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

 

CCRE’s mission will be to promote the business case for coastal restoration in Louisiana; maximize RESTORE Act funding and other federal funds that are allocated to Louisiana; ensure that RESTORE Act funding and other federal funds are spent on their intended purposes; leverage RESTORE Act funding and other federal funding to direct other revenue streams; and
create opportunities to engage local businesses and workforce in implementation.

 

Funded by the Walton Family Foundation, CCRE will support an integrated “three-legged” framework of coastal restoration, appropriate structural flood mitigation, and non-structural flood mitigation. The first step for CCRE members will be to participate in unique coastal experiences, including sea plane and boat tours of Louisiana’s coastline to see firsthand our challenges and opportunity. CCRE will also advocate for policies that promote, protect and drive resources to Louisiana’s coast.

“Water is the existential issue for Southeast Louisiana,” said Michael Hecht, President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “Our region has a take-it-or-leave-it opportunity to make strategic investments in the environment today that will ensure continued economic growth and opportunity tomorrow, and CCRE will help ensure this happens.”