Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) officials will host a group of students from the Carville Job Corps Academy to participate in the Ninth Annual Groundhog Job Shadow Program on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006. DNR joins thousands of employers and agencies around the country that sponsor this event which is traditionally held on Groundhog Day in the month of February.

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle said today that the push by the White House to end long-standing tax incentives as part of the 2011 federal budget is a push toward higher energy prices, greater dependence on foreign sources of energy and fewer jobs in the state and nation.

According to a recently completed report by the LSU Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana realizes close to a billion dollars in economic activity associated with oil and gas drilling and production activities on state-owned leases. The report, entitled Analysis of the Economic Impact Associated with Oil and Gas Activities on State Leases, examines the economic, tax, and revenue impacts associated with companies that lease land and water bottoms from the state.

Construction work has recently started to create beneficial marshland at three sites in Jefferson Parish along Bayou Dupont. Department of Natural Resources’s (DNR) Coastal Restoration officials said the job was awarded to Grillot Land & Marine, LLC of Belle Chase and should be completed in eight months.

Commissioner of Conservation Philip N. Asprodites assembled Office of Conservation field agents to Baton Rouge for a training seminar last week to review the latest legal and environmental issues affecting site inspections of oil and gas wells in Louisiana. The Commissioner sees education and training of his staff as high priority in these highly technical times.

James H. Welsh has been named the new Commissioner of Conservation at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) starting July 1st. Welsh, who retired from state service with 36 years in the Office of Conservation, was selected by Governor Mike Foster to assume the top job.

Volunteering for on-the-job safety duties has paid off for Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employee Manuel Lam, a senior energy analyst for the Technology Assessment Division. Lam’s willingness to take on the added duties as assistant floor warden for the department’s Safety Program paid cash dividends this week. He and 56 other dedicated DNR employees were honored and presented checks for their role in the department’s safety initiatives.