Delta Chapter Executive Committee 2012 - 2014 - Election Candidate Statements

Michael Caire

I am a Sierra Club life member and involved activist especially in northeast Louisiana. Past success stories include complete funding for the purchase of Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, followed up years later by the listing of the Louisiana Black Bear which is now approaching recovery status, Saline Bayou Wild and Scenic River designation, scenic river designation by the state of Louisiana of a portion of the Ouachita river thus stopping COE channelization plans. I hope to involve more members in NE Louisiana Sierra Club in the activities of the Delta Chapter.

Jason Faulk

Hello, I am Jason Faulk, a resident of Lafayette and member of the Sierra Club Acadian Group since 2006. I am asking for your vote for a seat on the Delta Chapter ExCom. Although this is my first time running for the ExCom, I am no stranger to environmental causes or community organizations. I have several years of hands-on experience working to improve his community and his world, beginning with the Lafayette campaign “Save the Horse Farm” in 2006. Since then, I have been involved in numerous organizations, including EarthShare CSA (a non-profit Community Shared Agriculture project), BikeLafayette (a Bicycle advocacy group), helping to create the Youth Alliance of Louisiana Leaders (YALL), and serving as president of ULL campus group SPEAK (the Society for Peace, Environment, Action, and Knowledge) from 2009 to 2011.

I have also attended, volunteered and trained at the Sierra Student Coalition’s summer organizing training program SPROG, and was instrumental in recruiting young people to the 2009 and 2011 PowerShift events in Washington, DC. I am especially familiar with the challenges and successes of recruiting and training younger generations of activists, and I am especially interested in the issues of sustainable food, bicycling, environmental politics, sustainable development and urban planning, clean energy and climate change. I am currently employed as a legal assistant, and I am a pursuing a degree in Community Sustainability at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Stacey Leah Scarce

Hello I am Stacey Scarce and I currently serve as the manager of Acadiana Park Nature Station, environmental education facility in Lafayette. Additionally, I am an expert guide for paddle, camping and hiking trips for Pack and Paddle, the premier outdoor excursion center in the region. I also teach wilderness adventure training at University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s kinesiology department. I played an integral role in creating the community roots project in partnership between Lafayette City Government, Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, EarthShare Gardens and community or neighborhood groups. The organization helps create food gardens in low-income neighborhoods.

I created an educational game for the black bear conservation coalition, which is given to teachers across Louisiana. I serve on the advisory committee for L. Leo Judice Elementary and Lafayette Middle School, both environmental charter schools, and I am on the board of trustees for Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. I created a 4th grade program that adheres to state science GLE’s for Nature Station fieldtrips for 150 4th grade classes every school year in Lafayette Parish.

I devote considerable personal time to concerns near and dear to her heart, including human rights, environmental justice, habitat preservation and restoration, alternative energy issues. I have traveled extensively, from South Dakota’s pine ridge reservation to the slums of India, including 42 states and 10 countries (Japan, Thailand, India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Costa Rica, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico). I would like to be on Sierra Club executive committee to learn more about the issues faced by Louisiana residents and to do what I can to help.

Dean Wilson

My name is Dean A. Wilson. I was born on an American Air Force Base in Spain to an American father and a Spanish mother. I grew up in Spain, but came to Louisiana in 1984 to train to go to the Amazon in Brazil. After living for four months in the swamps south of Franklin (with only a spear, a few hooks, and a bow and arrows), I fell in love with Louisiana’s swamps and decided to stay and make my living as a commercial fisherman in the Atchafalaya Basin. After years of seeing the decline of our wetlands, I started a swamp tour company in 2000 to try to raise awareness about the plight of the Atchafalaya Basin. In 2003 I was voted the Chair of the Atchafalaya Basin Committee by the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club. In the spring of 2004 I was approved as the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper by the Waterkeeper Alliance.

I help protect the Atchafalaya Basin through education, research, and enforcement of our environmental laws. For too long, the Atchafalaya Basin has been a lawless area where few environmental laws are enforced. I take the enforcement of our environmental laws very seriously. I also continue to conduct regular surveillance flights over the Atchafalaya, Maurepas, Barataria-Terrebonne, and Pearl River Basins to monitor for legal and illegal cypress logging and other illegal activities. I’m one of the founders of the Save Our Cypress Coalition, and I am working on an ongoing education campaign in local schools and civic clubs. I’m also helping to organize strong Save Our Cypress Coalitions in other southern states.

I’m very proud of Delta Chapter leadership protecting the environment here in Louisiana. If re-elected to the ex-com, my main priority would be to continue to ensure that the Delta Chapter remains true to our commitment to protecting our natural world for future generations.

Sierra Club Delta Chapter in Louisiana endorses J.P. Morrell for Louisiana State Senate District 3

Sierra Club Delta Chapter in Louisiana supports J.P. Morrell for election to represent Louisiana State Senate District 3, New Orleans. The Sierra Club appreciates Senator Morrell’s work to improve the health and protect the environment for residents of New Orleans and the people of Louisiana. Recent examples of his actions to represent all of the people in the state include his decisions to hold field meetings of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on proposed gas storage in salt domes at Jefferson Island and on the paper mill toxic discharge and fish kill in the Pearl River. The Sierra Club appreciates Senator Morrell’s support for a sustainable economy that does not sacrifice the natural environment of Louisiana, and which supports jobs and quality of life for Louisiana residents.

Sierra Club Delta Chapter is also supporting without public endorsement the candidacies of Steve Ortego in the 39^th Representative District and Jack Montoucet in the 42^nd Representative District. Representative District 39 extends north of Lafayette to include Carencro, Cankton, Arnaudville and Leonville. Representative District 42 extends west from Duson including Crowley and Mermentau. The Delta Chapter has interviewed the candidates to determine that their positions on issues relating to health and environment are deserving of our support. We are currently looking for volunteers to help make phone calls for these candidates in the final days before the election. If you would like to help please send an email to Woody Martin hrmartin2sc@gmail.com

Sierra Club Position on RESTORE Act

Background

• In late July, a bipartisan delegation of Gulf Coast Senators introduced the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act, or the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act (S. 1400).
• The bill would direct 80% of the anticipated Clean Water Act (CWA) fines levied against BP to the five Gulf Coast states.
• This reflects Navy Secretary Mabus’ and the National Oil Spill Commission’s recommendations as well as the repeated requests of Gulf residents and regional and national non-profits and community leaders, including the Sierra Club.
• On September 21st the bill was marked up and passed out of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

Our Position: Strengthen the RESTORE Bill

• Throughout the recovery process, the Sierra Club has stressed that in order for meaningful restoration to occur, the fundamental principles of transparency, accountability, and independent science are needed at all levels.
• While the RESTORE Bill is a step in the right direction (i.e. 80% CWA fines to the Gulf), it lacks adequate safeguards to support these principles.
• Therefore, the Sierra Club cannot support the RESTORE Bill in its current form.
• In order to secure our support, we will work to strengthen the bill through the following improvements:
• Establish a Science Advisory Committee to provide independent input on restoration project selection, implementation, and monitoring processes.
• Require an annual legislative audit by the Government Accounting Office or an independent auditor located outside the Gulf Coast.
• Require the Gulf states and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to establish formal public comment periods and to hold public hearings for all plans, projects, and programs developed with this funding.
• Create a permanent Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (RCAC) comprised of community leaders and stakeholders from the Gulf Coast to improve communications and provide long-term oversight of future oil industry actions.
• Require all plans and projects developed with these funds be consistent with the efforts of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, and be approved by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.
• Include a special clause to ensure funds prioritize ecosystem restoration over economic development, such as: 
• “Amounts provided under this bill may not be used for activities that destroy or degrade the health, diversity, or viability of coastal or marine ecosystems” or “No more than 10% of the funds received by a state in any fiscal year may be spent on projects that are primarily intended for economic development rather than restoration of coastal or marine ecosystems.”
• Remove language that allows states to sue the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council in federal court if the Council fails to act within 60 days or rejects a state’s project.

Questions/More information:  Jill Mastrototaro at jill.mastrototaro@sierraclub.org /504.861.4835