The House Natural Resources Committee favorably reported out the House Concurrent Resolution proposed by Rep. Karen St. Germain to approve the Basin Program Annual Plan for 2010-2011. There were no objections to the plan and Rep. Sam Jones complimented the Basin Program on the Plan and on the staff’s responsiveness to input and concerns from his constituents. Rep. Jones attended many of the public meetings leading up to the Plan and has been supportive of the Program. He offered to co-sponsor the resolution with Rep. St. Germain and declared that she was the “Prom Queen” of the Atchafalaya for her tireless support for the Basin.

Also present and supporting were Harold Schoeffler of the Sierra Club and the Acadiana Council of the Boy Scouts, Randy Lanctot of the LA Wildlife Federation, and this reporter, representing the Friends of the Atchafalaya.

Rep. St. Germain deserves all our gratitude for her work getting Act 606 through the legislature, shepherding the annual plans through, supporting the Basin Program and working to get consistent funding for the Program.

Please don’t forget that she is giving us another chance to provide that consistent funding for the Program in the form of a Constitutional Amendment that will appear on the ballot this fall. Friends of the Atchafalaya has gone on record as supporting the amendment and introduced a resolution at the recent LA Wildlife Federation Convention to that effect. The Convention overwhelmingly supported the resolution and the two organizations will be working together to get the word out about the vote.

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