From left, Kara Bullock, Cox Foundation vice president; Len Pitcock, Cox Communications Government and Public Affairs vice president; Chuck Smith, Ducks Unlimited board chairman; and Jeff Breaux, Cox Communications chief commercial officer, are all smiles after Cox Communications donated $2.5 million July 18 to DU. www.ducks.org

A huge, pleasant surprise became an instant midsummer highlight for duck hunters and conservation-minded outdoorsmen when Cox Communications announced a colossal investment July 18 benefitting Ducks Unlimited.

At a luncheon of donors, volunteers and conservation leaders who met that Friday at the City Club of River Ranch in Lafayette, Cox Communications announced midway through the event the James M. Cox Foundation was gifting $2.5 million for an initiative protecting and restoring coastal marshes and prairies in Louisiana and Texas. Those vast areas are at the same time the most vulnerable and ecologically rich regions in the country, according to a story posted later that day on www.ducks.org.

The donation to DU will fund projects that restore wetlands, enhance wildlife habitat and build natural buffers to protect communities from both severe storms and rising water.

Cassidy Lejeune, DU director of Conservation Programs – S. Louisiana, said, “Restoring wetlands in coastal Louisiana and Texas is critically important to the future of North America’s waterfowl, other wildlife and people, yet these habitats are disappearing at an alarming rate. In the next year, DU plans to invest more than $61 million to impact over 40,000 acres across the Western Gulf Coast.”

“While much of that is competitive public funding, it must be unlocked with private dollars. That’s why this gift from the James M. Cox Foundation, coupled with our ongoing partnership with Cox across the country, is so impactful. It will accelerate efforts to ensure that future generations can experience the abundant resources this landscape has to offer,” Lejeune said in a story posted July 18 on www.ducks.org.

The dog days of summer, of which we most certainly are in, got a lot better with the good news, everyone involved agreed. It was a breath of fresh, cool air in the oft-suffocating heat of mid-July along the Gulf Coast.

“As a native of South Louisiana, I am deeply grateful for this gift from the James M. Cox Foundation, and proud of Cox’s long-standing relationship with Ducks Unlimited. Conservation initiatives like these are highly critical – as is their impact on the safety, sustainability and future of the communities,” Jeff Breaux, Cox Communications chief commercial officer, said.

The $2.5 million donation follows an earlier $1.1 million grant made by the Foundation to preserve nearly 20,000 acres of Louisiana wetlands.

Breaux saluted Jim Kennedy, chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises and chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation, DU’s single-largest donor. The Foundation donated $100 million to DU’s land trust, Wetlands America Trust, to help conserve North America’s prairie pothole region so critical to wildlife, particularly waterfowl.

“Being a good steward and actively caring for the environment is one of the many ways Cox supports our communities. With Mr. Kennedy’s and the Foundation’s whole-hearted support, we’re able to expand our impact even further,” Breaux said, also noting previous Foundation grants have benefitted conservation efforts in Louisiana and around Chesapeake Bay.

The $2.5 million donation’s purpose is to restore vulnerable coastal habitat impacted by erosion and storms, according to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ new secretary, Tyler Bosworth. He said the money will go directly toward projects such as marsh building, terracing and barrier creation.

It’s a win win for all, an act that should please waterfowlers, conservationists and coastal residents in Louisiana and Texas.

The Foundation’s actions speak louder than words. That $100 million gift for the Wetlands America Trust is proof.

Upper North American prairies are a lush and productive ecosystem of wetlands and grasslands and a critical breeding ground for millions of migratory birds. Conservation efforts across the region helps many plant and animal species and improves the quality of life for people by increasing water quality and availability, according to the man behind the James M. Cox Foundation.

“It has always been important to me to leave the world better than I found it, and I was so honored when Alex proposed the idea of creating this fund,” Kennedy said May 30, 2024, referring to Alex Taylor, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises. “Ducks Unlimited and Wetlands America Trust are great partners to conserve and restore our prairies for future generations.”

Closer to home, Cox Communications has followed up a little more than a year later with another much-appreciated donation to improve coastal habitat along Louisiana and Texas.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.