blue moon fund

Louisiana contains 41% of the nation’s coastal wetlands, a critical natural resource for supporting and protecting coastal communities. It also serves as the drainage area for more than half of the freshwater entering the Gulf, and thus impacts the water quality for millions surrounding its shores. Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are eroding at an alarming rate, with most of these losses due to human impacts. Since the early 1930’s, coastal Louisiana has lost an area about 25 times the size of Washington, D.C. The Louisiana Delta is ground zero for a confluence of environmental challenges that directly impact the survival of the city of New Orleans as well as the people inhabiting the Delta. The Houma people, natives of the Gulf, are becoming climate refugees within our borders as encroaching waters destroy their homes and fishing livelihoods. Gulf fisheries are some of the most productive in the world, representing nearly 20% of the total domestic landings in the United States. New Orleans, and its downstream environs, presents a unique social, economic and environmental challenge for us. These challenges require a holistic approach to reenergizing this historic urban community. blue moon is investing in programs that aim to reverse wetlands loss, create new economic opportunities in sustainable fisheries businesses, and local land-based food systems, and strengthen the resiliency of New Orleans in a warming world.