To: Governor Kathleen Blanco February 20, 2004

Sec. Scott Angelle, LA Dept. of Natural Resources

LA Crawfish Producers Association - West

Acadiana Group of the Sierra Club

For the following reasons we ask Gov. Blanco and DNR Sec. Scott Angelle to approach with caution the retention of Sandra Thompson as the Director of the Atchafalaya Basin Program:

1. She has failed to recognize the serious water quality problems in the Basin and what should be done to deal with that issue.
2. She has failed to deal with declining sport and commercial harvest of fish and crawfish.
3. She has been a leader in trading State Water Bottoms at Butte LaRose for worthless lands elsewhere in the Basin.
4. She has wasted millions of dollars in projects that have little or no relationship to the Basin Program. These include the following:
a. decorating a bridge that should be condemned at the community of Henderson, LA
b. spending Basin money on city parks in Morgan City, Baldwin and other communities
c. spending Basin funds on renovating an Opera House at St. Martinville
d. acquiring a car dealership in Opelousas
e. building a campground in downtown St. Martinville on a contaminated industrial site
f. supporting a botanical garden near Henderson
g. funding meaningless studies on pipelines with no goal of implementing any kind of restoration plan
h. spending resources on media events that have little or nothing to do with resolving problems in the Basin
i. spending millions in Basin funds on massive dredging and waste spoil disposal projects that destroys productive wetlands and water quality. Dredging natural bayous like Bayou Postillion and Schwing Chute are examples of extreme destruction of the natural aquatic ecosystem.
5. She is spending these millions of tax dollars without oversight from any governmental or legislative entity.
6. She has failed to deal with ongoing dredging projects that are continuing to destroy the Basin.
7. Ms. Thompson should be demanding that wetlands loss and damages that occur in the Basin should be mitigated in the Basin. This is not happening. Trees are being planted in north LA soybean fields to mitigate Basin losses.

In conclusion, Ms Thompson has taken the Basin Program into areas that have little or no impact on the goals of restoring the Basin’s natural wonders and productivity.

We strongly recommend that a new director be appointed to represent this new administration in dealing with the State’s commitments in the Atchafalaya Basin Program. We also recommend and ask that there be a complete public accounting of all funds expended thus far in this Program.

LA Crawfish Producers Association - West
Acadian Group of the Sierra Club