Good tunes, good food, good cause

If the recent hurricane strikes on south Louisiana have you thinking something that must be done to save our coast, there is an event worthy of your time.

The non-profit coastal advocacy group Restore or Retreat is holding its 7th annual Barnstorming to Save Our Coast fundraiser Oct. 23, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Charlotte Bollinger’s barn, 8847 La. Hwy. 308 in Lockport.

Attendees will dine on a buffet provided by Cashio’s Catering and beverages supplied by local vendors. The highlight of the evening will be a silent auction.

“We have some good stuff this year,” said Simone Theriot-Maloz, executive director of Restore or Retreat. “We have an autographed LSU football, a weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans, artwork, golf clubs, tickets to the D-Day Museum and the zoo, and more things keep rolling in.”

Fittingly, the evening’s entertainment will be the Hurricane Levee Band, led by Windell Curole, general manager of the South Lafourche Levee District.

Restore or Retreat was founded in 2000 by the same individuals who started the LA 1 Coalition to make improvements to Louisiana Highway 1. They decided a similar organization was needed to focus on coastal restoration efforts.

The group promotes restoration projects in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. “While we have to know what’s going on along the whole coast, we’re focused on our area to make sure our needs are being met,” Maloz said.

Restore or Retreat, located on the Nicholls State University campus, has worked on a couple of efforts to bring more freshwater back to Louisiana wetlands.

One is the Bayou Lafourche Project, which would reintroduce Mississippi River water into the bayou. Another was the $120 million Davis Pond project, the world’s largest freshwater diversion project, which allowed freshwater, nutrients and sediment to flow through the salt-threatened Barataria-Terrebonne estuary.

Despite those successes, Maloz said it is hard to get people outside of south Louisiana to understand how urgent the need is for coastal protection.

“We do struggle to get attention because we’re not New Orleans, and we’re not Baton Rouge,” she explained. “Unfortunately, it usually takes something bad happening to us to get that attention. People here are aware of the problem, and increasingly I think people statewide know what kind of situation our region faces.”

The impact of September’s back-to-back hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, on Terrebonne and neighboring parishes has put a temporary spotlight on the issue. Maloz hopes to turn that momentum into funding legislation.

“We need to make sure that we’re able to capture that attention and that awareness is conveyed in Baton Rouge and in Washington where some of the decision-makers really are,” she said. “We just have to make sure that they understand our importance not only to this state, but also to the nation – especially when it comes to oil and gas and seafood – and how important this little forgotten corner of the world is.”

Businesses and individuals can donate an item for the silent auction up to the night of the event. Nothing is turned down.

“Sometimes we have people come to the event with something to auction, which is always really nice,” Maloz said. “It’s a good way for businesses to donate an item from their business and support the cause.”

Tickets to Barnstorming to Save Our Coast cost $50 and include a one-year individual ROR membership. To purchase tickets, call the Restore or Retreat office at (985) 448-4485 or e-mail simone.maloz@ nicholls.edu.