If you wish to receive the Basin Bulletin by e-mail every month, please join our mailing list. It’s simple to do - just click here! Feel free to forward this email to any interested friends. If you are having trouble viewing this e-mail please copy this link into your browser http://www.saveourlake.org/bulletin.htm In This Issue Landrieu Demands Presidential Action on Levees, Coastal Restoration
The Administration's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator, Donald
Powell, has announced that it will cost the Army Corps of Engineers nearly $6
billion in additional funding to protect Gulf Coast families and fully In her letter, Sen. Landrieu urged the President to put the full weight of his office behind an immediate national commitment to "fully fund and implement an integrated, coordinated, and comprehensive levee, flood control and coastal restoration program to protect the lives of Americans" living in the New Orleans area and along the Louisiana coast. She also urged the President to make an immediate, specific request to Congress of at least $6 billion to fund this effort, and called for him to issue Executive Orders instructing agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers to take emergency steps to implement the commitment on a fast-tracked basis. "Members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation from both parties have asked your administration for such a national commitment for a long time," Sen. Landrieu wrote, adding that the commitment should include support for a federal revenue-sharing that would provide a long-term revenue stream to fund coastal protection and wetlands restoration projects and maintenance for years to come. "Money spent on levees and flood control today will save the federal government billions in the future," she added. You can read Senator Landrieu's full letter at http://landrieu.senate.gov/hurricanes/images/06.04.04PrezLetter.pdf ____________________________________________ Events/Development
Back to the Beach Festival Moves to Kenner. The LPBF’s 17th Annual Back to the Beach Festival, scheduled for June 3 & 4, 2006, will take place on Lake Pontchartrain in Laketown (end of Williams Blvd in Kenner). This two-day festival offers great food, arts & crafts, fabulous music and fun for the whole family! There is an exciting line-up of bands this year, including Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Benjy Davis Project, The Boogie Men, Bag of Donuts, Bucktown All-Stars, The Mixed Nuts, Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters, Bobby Cure and the Summertime Blues and The Topcats. Mark your calendars and join us for a fun-filled weekend! Please visit us on the web for updated information about the festival. Please click here for updated information on the festival.
____________________________________________ Help Protect Our Cypress Though Louisiana’s wetlands face serious threats from coastal land loss and development, the widespread clear cutting of our cypress forests is a very imminent danger. Cypress is vitally important to protect our coastal communities from the effects of hurricanes and storm surge.
Many stands of cypress forest are being logged to produce garden mulch. Unfortunately, most consumers believe that mulch from cypress trees is a far better product than alternatives such as pine bark, pine straw, or recycled sugar cane. To dispel this myth, download this fact sheet from the Waterkeeper Alliance. For more information about how you can get involved in protecting our cypress forests click here. ____________________________________________Green Building Expo In the wake of the 2005 hurricane season, energy efficiency and modern, environmentally responsible building materials are practical, economically sensible answers to rebuilding our communities better than before. Earth Day weekend you can learn more about green building at the BuildSmart Expo, April 22nd-23rd at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center & Barristers Gallery, 1712-1724 Oretha Castle-Haley Blvd., in New Orleans. For more information visit www.all4energy.org/buildsmartexpo.html. Become A Member, Get Involved Membership is a gift of support to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. We’d like to thank our new members and all our past members who have renewed in 2006, bringing us to 1,500 strong! With your help and support, LPBF has accomplished many projects since our beginning in 1989, but we have more work to do. Please become a member today! ____________________________________________ Education/Outreach News Katrina/LPBF Cleanup Program continues. Pick an area in your neighborhood and bring your group out to clean up. Call JoAnn to document areas being covered. LPBF’s Coastal Lines of Defense Program: Call for a 45-minute interactive presentation to your group on LPBF’s plan to restore the coast. There is no cost and an LPBF staff member is happy to discuss how to protect our region from the next hurricane. JoAnn Burke ____________________________________________ Water Quality The water quality for March was rather good. All of the sites were below the primary contact recreation (i.e. swimming) limits for the month. The limit for contact recreation is 200 fecal coliform bacteria in 100 milliliters of water. We recommend that people and pets stay out of the water for at least three days after a rain. We are also recommend staying out of the water after a very heavy rain until the next week's water quality numbers are released because of the potential for pollution from run-off. ____________________________________________
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LPBF has had great achievements over the years, but there is more work to be done. Membership has its privileges!  |
LPBF merchandise makes a great gift. Visit our Gift Shop to get great gear and Save Our Lake. |
There are a number of Ways to Give to LPBF and they all help to restore and preserve our basin. |
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Storm Surge at the junction of the MRGO and the Gulf Intercoastal Water Way underneath the Parish Road Bridge 
