Office of Conservation

DNR Launches National Release of ‘Save LA Wetlands' PSAs to Increase Awareness

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Jack Caldwell today announced the nationwide release of a series of broadcast public service announcements to "Save LA Wetlands", continuing the state's efforts to broaden public awareness of Louisiana's devastating coastal wetlands loss.

A national distribution service begins the nationwide launch today, billing the TV spots as "Three Men and a Frog", playing on the fact that the commercials, produced by DNR, use the talents of four celebrities, including Kermit the Frog, who each have a personal stake in Louisiana's coast.

At the same time, television and radio spots accompanied by a letter from Governor Mike Foster, are being sent out in Louisiana this week.

Performers Harry Connick, Jr. and Aaron Neville, Chef Paul Prudhomme, and Kermit the Frog all donated their time to send the message that Louisiana's coast is a national treasure of tremendous value to the rest of the country and must be saved.

Secretary Caldwell said, "We are making an all out effort to tell people all over America about the plight of Louisiana's coast and to let them know we're serious about stopping this dramatic loss of land."

"It is not a coincidence that we're releasing the spots at the same time federal legislation is pending in both houses of Congress that would share offshore oil revenues with the states for coastal impact assistance and for land, water and wildlife conservation," Caldwell said.

"The more we can draw national attention to our problem, the better the chances for Louisiana to come out a winner with Congress. The current legislation introduced by Senator Mary Landrieu and Congressmen Billy Tauzin and Chris John would bring Louisiana more than $320 million a year. That would go a long way toward the $14 billion it will take to restore our coastline and to stop the losses. When you look at the $150 billion it would cost us in the loss of infrastructure alone if we do nothing, the price is pretty reasonable."

Editors: Call DNR Public Information at 225-342-8955 or 342-4844 for more information.

NOTE: For previews of the PSAs, link to the SaveLAWetlands PSA page