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Louisiana Sea Grant Marks a Half Century with Event at UNO

It was 86 degrees in Baton Rouge on July 1, 1968 – cooler than usual. The median monthly income of a family in the United states was $719. A woman’s haircut cost $2.15. Gasoline averaged 34 cents per gallon. And with initial funding of $198,000 from the federal government, the Louisiana Sea Grant (LSG) College Program was born.

An outreach event to mark Louisiana Sea Grant’s half-century of service and partnerships in St. Bernard, Jefferson, Plaquemines and Orleans parishes will be held Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Earl K. Long Library, Room 407, on the University of New Orleans campus – 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans. Refreshments will be served, and the event is open to the public and the media from St. Bernard, Jefferson, Plaquemines and Orleans parishes.

“I can’t express how excited I am about Louisiana Sea Grant’s golden anniversary and how we continue the mission that originated five decades ago,” said Robert Twilley, LSG executive director. “Granted, many of the issues have changed in 50 years, but the research and outreach we fund today is no less important.

“For a program that celebrating a half-century of service, Louisiana Sea Grant continues to innovate and be a leader in bridging our state’s academic expertise with the needs of those who manage, conserve, enjoy and make their living on the coast. Louisiana Sea Grant has demonstrated that it is prepared to help coastal communities meet immediate and future challenges,” Twilley added.

Since its establishment in 1968, Louisiana Sea Grant – www.laseagrant.org – has worked to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education and outreach programs critical to the cultural, economic and environmental health of Louisiana’s coastal zone. Louisiana Sea Grant, based at LSU, is part of the National Sea Grant College Program, a network of 33 university-based programs in each of the U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico.

The outreach event at UNO is one of six to be held across the coast over the next several months. The events will be held in or near where LSG has extension offices. All events will be held in connection with the Marine Extension Program and local parish extension offices. Participants will get a chance to see Louisiana Sea Grant Program research and outreach efforts throughout the Louisiana coastal zone.