Atchafalaya Basinkeeper

Description

Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (ABK) is a small grassroots organization with the mission to preserve, restore and protect the Atchafalaya Basin for future generations. The Atchafalaya Basin is the most productive swamps in the entire world, home to thousands of migratory birds and animal species. It encompasses over 1.4 million acres of land, water, swamp, marshlands and bottomland hardwood forest. The Atchafalaya Basin is also the last bastion of the Cajun culture. Cajuns are under looked minority that have suffered tremendously over the years, their culture decimated by the country’s ethnocide policies and their fishing grounds systematically destroyed by industry and government programs.

ABK was established in 2004 as a member organization of Waterkeeper alliance. ABK originally started out to save Louisiana's coastal cypress forests from ongoing destruction by the cypress mulch industry. ABK has developed relationships and works with diverse partner organizations, communities, agencies, regulated industry, commercial and recreational users of the Basin, outdoor enthusiasts and concerned citizens in collective stewardship to preserve this ecological wonder.