November 14, 2022 Jean Lafitte, La.
During a ceremony held during the 2022 Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival to dedicate new information signage for the town's Wetlands Trace boardwalk LICI was recognized for its role in organizing two events to clear Hurricane Ida debris from the boardwalk.
The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) also held an information booth open at the Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival for the second year in a row. The booth was manned with LICI volunteers and volunteers from Common Ground Relief on Saturday and Sunday, November 12th and 13th. The festival invites coastal restoration groups each year to hold open information booths about their non-profits and work. Gary Salathe, president and board member of LICI said, "Our volunteers talked to many people about irises and the work we do, signed up new volunteers, made some new contacts with other organizations.......and had a good time!"
Gary Salathe, seen in the center, is shown with LICI volunteers, Leigh Anne Salathe and Connie Adams just before the LICI booth opens on Sunday, November 13th at the
Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival.
The town of Jean Lafitte's Wetlands Trace Boardwalk is the site of a multi-year iris restoration project that LICI has underway. The town also has big plans for a multi-million dollar wetlands center currently under construction at the entrance to the boardwalk.
Sarah Mack, with the Tierra Foundation, invited LICI's Gary Salathe and Josh Benitez, co-director of Common Ground Relief, to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new signage the foundation created along the Wetlands Trace boardwalk. The entrance to the boardwalk where the ribbon cutting was held was on the Seafood Festival grounds. The ceremony was used by Mayor Tim Kerner, Jr. to thank the Teirra Foundation and their donor, Kosmos Energy, for not only the new signage but also for repairing the boardwalk after Hurricane Ida.
Mayor Tim Kerner, Jr. is seen with Sarah Mack giving his remarks to the assembled group for the dedication of the new signage on the boardwalk.
In his remarks, the mayor also thanked the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative and Common Ground Relief for acting on their own initiative to clear Hurricane Ida debris from the boardwalk so town residents could use portions of it until repairs could be done by the Tierre Foundation. Sarah Mack also thanked LICI in her remarks for clearing the debris and for the group's help with supplying information about the irises they have planted at the boardwalk. The information was used on one of the displays.
Tierre Foundation's Sarah Mack, is seen cutting the ribbon for the official dedication of the new information displays her foundation created for the boardwalk. An executive of Kosmos Energy is seen on the left and Jean Lafitte mayor Tim Kerner, Jr. is seen on the right.
LICI's Gary Salthe, on left, is seen with Common Ground Relief's, Josh Benitez at the entrance to the boardwalk after the ribbon had been cut.