by Walton Family Foundation staff

The Gulf Coast ecosystem supports a $19 billion wildlife tourism industry and a $41 billion recreational fishing economy, while producing roughly 40 percent of the commercial seafood harvested in the lower forty-eight states. The Walton Family Foundation has announced a campaign to identify business support for restoration projects that will benefit both the economy and environment of the Gulf Coast region.

Operation 1-1-1 — “One Cause, One Coastline, One Chance” — will provide a unique platform for fishermen, restaurant owners, community leaders and other coastal residents to tell their stories and call on policymakers to support environmental restoration that benefits local communities.

For decades families have relied on Gulf waters – not only to make a living, but also to provide seafood to Americans across the country. Restoring the Gulf environment means sustaining a way of life.

“The old construct of business and environmental interests being at odds doesn’t work for anyone. We support restoration solutions that make economic sense,” said Walton Family Foundation Environmental Focus Area director Scott Burns. “We call it conservationomics — the idea that environmental and economic restoration go hand in hand. That’s what this campaign is all about.”

The campaign collected stories from residents who rely on a healthy Gulf environment for their livelihoods. It provides a forum for Gulf Coast residents who support common-sense restoration to take action through the campaign website.

“When people come out fishing for the first time on my boat, they see firsthand why clean waters and healthy fish stocks are so important,” said Fr. Sinclair Oubre of the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association on a video the organization produced. “Their experiences and my business depend on a strong ecosystem.”

In Alabama tourists visiting Alabama’s Gulf Coast spend 3.6 billion, over a third of all travel dollars spent in Alabama.

According to Louis Skrmetta, a Ship Island Excursion captain in Gulfport, MS, “When tourists and locals come on Ship Island Excursions, they can see firsthand why clean waters and health fish stock are so important. Their experiences and my business depend on a strong ecosystem.”

Environmental restoration creates jobs, boosts Gulf Coast businesses and strengthens local communities. Environmental projects, such as invasive species removal, can create up to 74 percent more jobs per dollar than typical investments in infrastructure.

In Texas alone, shoreline restoration will result in new jobs. An analysis of jobs created by the final phase of the project alone determined that an estimated 95 jobs would be created and/or maintained through this project phase., including those involved in quarrying and preparing limestone; transporting via barge, railway, and dump trucks; fabricating metal equipment; constructing rock breakwaters; surveying; producing navigational day beacons; growing and maintaining marsh vegetation; harvesting and planting marsh vegetation; and managing and overseeing on-the-ground implementation of the project and administering the grant.

“Common sense tells us there’s more at stake than just the jobs that will be directly created or preserved by restoration efforts,” explained Michael Hecht, President, Greater New Orleans, Inc. on the video. “Businesses can’t expand or create jobs without a stabilized coast that protects the region from flooding. We need our leaders to make smart decisions that leverage our natural resources to protect this region from the storms that harm both the economy and the community.”

The site will be supported with Google and Facebook ad buys from the Walton Family Foundation.

 

 

Tags: Featured, Fr. Sinclair Oubre, Greater New Orleans, Michael Hecht, Operation 1-1-1, Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association, Ship Island Excursion, Walton Family Foundation