Q4 Management Conference #113 | NOVEMBER 6 | CITY OF PLAQUEMINE
The 113th BTNEP Management Conference, held on Thursday, November 6th, 2025, in the city of Plaquemine, was a great success and brought together partners and stakeholders from across the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary to share important updates and initiatives. Attendees gathered at the Plaquemine Community Center, beginning the morning with a warm welcome from Chris Daigle, Iberville Parish President, and JB Barker, City of Plaquemine Mayor. We followed with presentations from our conference speakers: Heather Blanchard, Vice President of Plaquemine Friends of the Lock; Caroline Byrne Cassagne, Executive Director of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area; Erin Kiskaddon, Coastal Ecologist with The Water Institute of the Gulf; and Wes LeBlanc, Coastal Resources Scientist Manager at the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Thank you to our wonderful speakers, and to the city of Plaquemine and Iberville Parish for hosting us!
Below you can find links to the agenda, speaker presentations, and a recording of the meeting. Please mark your calendars for our first Management Conference of the new year on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Location is to be determined.
Presentations:
- Plaquemine Lock, Gateway to the Atchafalaya – Heather Blanchard, Vice President, Friends of
the Lock (Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site)
- Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, America’s Foreign Country – Caroline Byrne Cassagne,
Executive Director, Atchafalaya National Heritage Area
Knowledge Gaps, and Improving Marsh Habitat Restoration – Erin Kiskaddon, Coastal Ecologist,
The Water Institute of the Gulf
- Atchafalaya Basin Program Master Plan Development – Joseph “Wes” LeBlanc, Coastal
Resources Scientist Manager, CPRA
