Stewardship partners meeting held in Biloxi
The 11th Annual Southern Company/National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Stewardship Partners Meeting wrapped up Thursday morning after three days of environmental discussions, presentations and networking opportunities.
Tuesday’s welcome reception, held at the Biloxi Visitors Center, provided environmental affairs representatives from Southern Company and the operating companies a chance to interact with NFWF grant recipients and state and federal agency representatives.
Johnny Atherton, vice president of Corporate Services and Community Relations, welcomed the visitors to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“We are proud of this tremendous partnership between Southern Company and NFWF,” Atherton said. “We lead our industry in measures like reliability, value and customer service. But we’re just as proud of our record as environmental stewards.”
Betting on Partnerships
Wednesday morning, Larry Monroe, chief environmental officer at Southern Company, greeted attendees at the Golden Nugget Casino and reinforced the company’s commitment to stewardship.
“The work that is done by the people in this room is tangible,” Monroe said. “We’ve already accomplished so much together, and I’m looking forward to what the next 10 years of partnership brings.”
Amanda Bassow, eastern region director for NFWF, wasted no time in showing her appreciation for the work accomplished because of the grants that were distributed in the last decade.
“After 10 years of working with groups just like yours, we’ve had an on-the-ground impact of more than $85 million and restored or enhanced more than 1 million acres of habitat,” Bassow said. “That is real conservation.”
Many Programs, One Mission
NFWF’s partnership with Southern Company and the operating companies is coordinated through three conservation programs – Power of Flight, Longleaf Legacy/Longleaf Stewardship Fund and Five Star Restoration.
Trudy Fisher, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said the Stewardship Partners Meeting provides an opportunity to gain both stakeholder perspective and priorities from the communities we serve.
“It’s about partnerships and relationships,” Fisher said. “Southern Company and NFWF bring everyone together in one room to talk about all of our differing priorities.”
Thursday morning, conference attendees got a first-hand look at Mississippi’s natural resources. Partners were presented with the chance to take a boat tour of the Pascagoula River, one of the last free-flowing river systems in the contiguous U.S., paddle a canoe down the Wolf River, which was designated the state’s first Scenic Stewardship Stream, or go for a coastline bird walk.