WaterMarks Interview with Val Marmillion

A Louisiana native, Mr. Marmillion is the managing director of America’s Wetlan d Foundation. The foundation increases public awareness of Louisiana’s wetland loss and understanding of its implications for the state, nation and world.

WaterMarks: Isn’t coastal restoration a matter of science and engineering? Why should effort be spent on education and outreach?

Marmillion: The problem facing Louisiana’s coast is so huge its solution will require expenditures of public money. Public awareness of this tragedy happening on American soil is very necessary to develop support for both state and federal funding of coastal protection and restoration. Without public support there is no money.

WaterMarks: Why should Louisiana’s coastal crisis be a national issue?

Marmillion: The Mississippi River delta system is central to 31 states, but ecology knows no boundaries. If any part of the river is unhealthy, it affects the entire system — everything from navigation and maritime concerns, seafood production and energy development to communities in the wetlands — all of these things are national assets.

WaterMarks: How has America's WETLAND Foundation developed awareness of Louisiana's situation?

Marmillion: The foundation launched a media campaign to make America's WETLAND a name familiar to people throughout the country. We used hundreds of strategies and tactics and normal marketing tools — advertising, billboards, public service announcements and such. We've attracted media attention by sponsoring events that demonstrate why wetlands are important. In conjunction with leading educational groups, we've introduced wetland studies into curricula nationwide, bringing awareness to the student population. Almost 200 cooperating organizations attend our summits and special events and incorporate our information into their own programs.

Through the years America's WETLAND and CWPPRA have enjoyed a complementary relationship. The foundation has used its research capability and its expertise in public outreach to help educate people about CWPPRA's projects and achievements.

WaterMarks: How do you measure the success of your efforts?

Marmillion: There are a number of ways. Polling shows we've consistently increased recognition of our name. We track how often we're mentioned in print, electronic and broadcast media. We list the products we inspire — the special sections in magazines, the public television shows, the documentaries. I’d say our greatest achievement has been helping to create the environment in which Louisiana adopted a comprehensive state master plan for coastal protection and restoration. This plan spells out the future for the region. Concurrently, passage of the Outer Continental Shelf revenue-sharing bill provides a critical source of money to implement the plan. These pieces of legislation would not have been passed without strong public support.

WaterMarks: America’s WETLAND has many partners and sponsors. What is their role?

Marmillion: I believe the foundation’s strongest feature is bringing together diverse interests to build partnerships. For example, the leaders of Shell oil company and Environmental Defense stood together with us when we launched America’s WETLAND Campaign. Private companies sponsor the foundation and provide funding for our campaigns and major initiatives, while a number of conservation and environmental organizations are cooperating partners. Other organizations, such as Women of the Storm and Coast Guardians, were created in association with the foundation to involve specific stakeholder groups. And some partners, like the America’s WETLAND Conservation Corps, grew out of the foundation’s initiatives.

The Corps demonstrates how we can leverage our partnerships. This program involves kids doing wetland restoration and repair out in the field. One of our sponsors, the Tabasco Company, generated funding for the Corps by attaching coupons to bottles of their sauce. Two dollar, five dollar donations have come in from thousands of individuals around the world. We also went to Americorps for support. Their funding enables another of our partners, the LSU Ag Center, to manage the teams and schedule plantings.

WaterMarks: What lies ahead for the foundation?

Marmillion: The next phase of our campaign is reaching out to other deltas across the globe. In Louisiana we know that we have a very serious problem on our hands, but we also know that how we solve our problem could serve as a model for delta systems worldwide.

Building levees along the Mississippi River had tragic consequences in our wetlands. From that we learned that whatever you build in the wetlands, you have to build in concert with natural systems. It’s a lesson to share with other deltas before they suffer the destruction we’ve experienced.

Another model that Louisiana offers is its civic process of bringing citizens and stakeholders together in political discourse. The result is the state’s adoption of a unique, comprehensive plan for coastal restoration and protection. Approval of the plan would never have been possible without strong public support, rooted in public awareness of the urgency of Louisiana’s coastal crisis.