LAFAYETTE, La. -- The Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration is pleased to announce that Dewey Billodeau, an engineer with OCPR's Lafayette Field Office, has received the 2009 Regional Director's Conservation Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Billodeau will be presented with the award at the USFWS's annual honor awards ceremony in Atlanta May 13. The service presents the awards each year to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the conservation of natural resources in the Southeast Region.
Billodeau is OCPR's operations and maintenance manager for several large Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act projects in Cameron Parish, including work associated with the Cameron-Creole Watershed Project along the east side of Calcasieu Lake. The levee and water control structures for that project are critical to addressing saltwater intrusion from the Calcasieu Ship Channel into 60,000 acres of marsh. He is currently managing a project to upgrade 14 miles of that levee, a project that will go to bid in the upcoming weeks and will provide needed marsh restoration and flood protection for that area.
Don Voros, the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, nominated Billodeau for the award. Voros praised Billodeau for his cooperation and support in the management and protection of the coastal marshes of southwest Louisiana.
"Dewey has demonstrated his commitment to the restoration of the wetlands of Southwest Louisiana and his passion for this area throughout his career, and this award is much deserved," Voros said.
Billodeau has spearheaded repairs to wetland projects damaged during recent hurricanes. He was instrumental in the design and construction of four levee breach closures needed to repair the Cameron-Creole project following Hurricane Rita.
He also helped facilitate needed repairs to three large water control structures damaged by Hurricanes Rita and Ike that impact the management of 40,000 acres on Sabine National Wildlife Refuge.
If you need additional information, please call Miki Teer in Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration at (225) 342-7303 or e-mail at miki.teer@la.gov The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's mandate is to develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration master plan. For the first time in Louisiana's history, this single state authority will integrate coastal restoration and hurricane protection by marshalling the expertise and resources of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and Development, and other state agencies, to speak with one clear voice for the future of Louisiana's coast. Working with federal, state and local political subdivisions, including levee districts, the CPRA will work to establish a safe and sustainable coast that will protect our communities, the nation's critical energy infrastructure, and our bountiful natural resources for generations to come. The CPRA of Louisiana was established by Act 8 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of 2005.
