HR 72

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 72
BY REPRESENTATIVE ORGERON
  A RESOLUTION
To commend Sophia Patout and Layla Porter on winning a Future Farmers of America
       national championship competition for their Coastal Restoration Heroes program.
       WHEREAS, Louisiana continues to experience coastal land loss at a rate of
approximately ten square miles per year, posing a significant threat to the environment,
economy, and communities of the state, including Ascension Parish; and
       WHEREAS, Sophia Patout and Layla Porter, members of the St. Amant High School
Future Farmers of America Chapter, started a Coastal Restoration Heroes program in 2022,
focused on coastal restoration on West Grand Terre Island; and
       WHEREAS, Sophia and Layla sought to create a program for students to actively
participate in coastal restoration efforts by working with Restore or Retreat Inc. to plant
native Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) and Avicennia germinans (black mangroves)
on the barrier island to support shoreline stabilization and erosion control, foster ecosystem
recovery and resilience, and create hurricane buffers; and
       WHEREAS, these students not only met, but exceeded the program goals by
partnering with multiple restoration organizations, mobilizing student volunteers for field
restoration activities, and planting more than six thousand native plants by March of 2025,
protecting and enhancing approximately eighteen acres of backside interior saltmarsh; and
       WHEREAS, these efforts not only reflect a strong commitment to preserving
Louisiana's coast, but also serve as an inspirational model for youth engagement in
environmental conservation; and
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HR NO. 72  ENROLLED
       WHEREAS, the Future Farmers of America national chapter awards program
recognizes outstanding chapters that show innovation in growing leaders, strengthening
agriculture, and building communities; and
       WHEREAS, in recognition of their exceptional hard work and initiative, Sophia and
Layla won the building communities division national championship award from the Future
Farmers of America for the Coastal Restoration Heroes program they created.
       THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Sophia Patout and Layla Porter on their
exceptional leadership, environmental stewardship, and civic responsibility and for winning
the Future Farmers of America building communities national championship for their
Coastal Restoration Heroes program.
       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Sophia Patout and Layla Porter.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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