NEWSROOM
O’Leary
Honored with Coastal America Partnership Award
October 10, 2006
Louisiana Sea Grant
nonindigenous species coordinator Marilyn Barrett O’Leary
was part of a team that received the 2006 Coastal America Partnership
Award, presented at the national meeting of the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The award was presented to O’Leary
and the other development team members of Aquatic Invaders, an
entertaining, educational tool to demonstrate simple steps to
avoid the spread of invasive species.
“Through this
outstanding effort, nearly 140 million people annually may learn
how to protect our environment from aquatic invasive species,
which cost our nation nearly $138 billion per year to control,”
said Timothy R.E. Keeney, deputy assistance secretary for oceans
and atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce, who presented the
award.
Aquatic Invaders is
an engaging 20-minute program that includes audience participation.
During the program, the audience learns how just one person
can bring an invasive species into an ecosystem.
Lead partners for the
Aquatic Invaders program include North Carolina Sea Grant, North
Carolina Aquariums, the University of Georgia Marine Extension
Service and Georgia Sea Grant. Other partners include the Louisiana,
Illinois-Indiana, California, Oregon and Connecticut Sea Grant
programs, among others.
The Coastal
America Partnership was established in 1992 to protect, preserve
and restore coastal watersheds by integrating federal, state
and local government efforts. For information, visit www.coastalamerica.gov.
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 Louisiana State University, is part of the National Sea
Grant Program, a network of 32 programs in each of the U.S. coastal
and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico.
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