[StBernard] Governor Blanco Appoints Lake Charles Biologist to LRA Board of Directors

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco Appoints Lake Charles Biologist to LRA Board of Directors


BATON ROUGE, La. - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the appointment of David Richard to the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Board of Directors. Richard, a career wildlife biologist, joins the 33-member board, which serves as the planning and coordinating body of Louisiana's rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

A resident of Lake Charles, Richard is executive vice president of Stream Property Management Inc., a private company that manages the Stream family estate in southwestern Louisiana, as well as 150,000 acres of diverse wetlands in southern Louisiana. He also manages Stream Wetland Services, a consulting company specializing in wetlands restoration. Prior to his current position, he spent 16 years as a wildlife biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

"David's expertise in wetlands and coastal restoration will prove invaluable as we enter a critical phase of our recovery - rebuilding our vanishing coastline," said Governor Blanco. "He will work with us as we define recovery efforts in Cameron Parish and Southwest Louisiana. I am so pleased he agreed to join us in this historic work."

During his tenure at Stream Property Management, Richard was instrumental in securing wetlands restoration funding from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He also participated in the writing and implementation of Coast 2050 Plan for Louisiana. 

While working with Wildlife and Fisheries, he maintained 85,000 acres of wetlands within the Rockefeller Refuge. During this time, he was responsible for monitoring and surveying several species associated with the wetlands including waterfowl, alligators and furbearers. 

He is a member of the Louisiana Wildlife Biologists Association, the IUCN Species Survival Commission, the Louisiana Landowners Association, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. 

Richard attended his first meeting as an LRA Board member on Thursday. 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses and inflicting about $25 billion in insured losses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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