Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) has been bequeathed $5 million that will enhance its mission of wildlife conservation and being the voice of Louisiana’s wildlife and natural resources. The gift from the estate of Marian Plant Petry was finalized in December and has been put to immediate use by LWF. It is the largest bequest received by LWF since its creation in 1940.
We are deeply honored by Mrs. Petry’s generosity. As a former teacher and avid gardener, she cared about children and nature and enjoyed being outdoors. Her gift supports LWF’s priority to leave future generations abundant wildlife and wild spaces to enjoy in Louisiana.
Her gift has allowed LWF to encourage new partnerships that advance habitat conservation, collaborate on education and policy, and engage more citizens throughout our state. The issues we grapple with today include coastal land loss, water management policy, potential impacts on wildlife habitat from expansion of energy production and carbon management, increased wildlife diseases and invasive species, and prudent management of public lands.
The Petry bequest helped fund LWF’s partnership with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana to produce two educational coloring books that promote and preserve the native Tunica and Biloxi languages using wildlife as the focus. These two coloring books are now available in every public library in the state and can be found on the LWF website at lawildlifefed.org.
The funding has also helped LWF support creating a post-graduate fellowship at the Tulane Center for Environmental Law to collaboratively work on emerging policy issues and provide more research and analysis.
Marian and her husband John Petry, Jr. were long-time members of LWF. They believed in LWF’s earliest purpose to conserve our natural resources and the right to enjoy them, and their generosity helps LWF’s members and leaders advance our mission in ways we only dreamed of before.