New Orleans, LA - Louisiana Senator John B. Breaux will be awarded the first National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Stewardship Award at a gala dinner on Friday, January 24, 2003, at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. The award is given for his role in the expansion of the National Marine Sanctuary System, and specifically for his role in the creation of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located 100 miles off the coast of the Louisiana/Texas border.

“Senator Breaux has a long and distinguished record of supporting legislative initiatives designed to enhance the nation’s coastal and ocean resources,” said Lori Arguelles, Executive Director of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. “Without his involvement, the Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary might not exist today.”

“The Sanctuary and the Flower Garden Banks is a great public-private partnership, with industry and government working together to create a safe, healthy environment for the Flower Garden Banks,” said Senator Breaux.

A Night on the Flower Garden Banks: A Tribute to Senator John B. Breaux will include a retrospective on the sanctuary, as well as a look ahead to its future. U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson will attend and make remarks during the tribute dinner, and U.S. Congressman David Vitters also plans to attend and make remarks during the reception.

The event will also feature some of the nation’s finest chefs, including Paul Prudhomme of K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Alan Ehrich of the Audubon Nature Institute, Todd Gray of Equinox, Keith Keogh of Red Lobster, and Jeffrey Mora of Creative Culinary Design. Dennis Woltering from WWL-TV will be the tribute’s Master of Ceremonies.

Co-existing with nearby oil and gas platforms, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is located 110 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana and harbors 56 square miles of coral reef and associated marine communities. Like an oasis in the desert, the sanctuary’s salt domes provide shelter for reefs, sponges, and fish of such beauty that the Flower Garden Banks have become a premier diving destination in the United States.

“I often compare marine sanctuaries to our national park system,” said Senator Breaux. “The approach we’ve taken with national parks is to permit recreational uses consistent with the purpose of the park to the greatest possible extent. As we have discovered with the Flower Gardens, this balanced approach works for marine sanctuaries as well. I look forward to diving the Flower Garden Banks in the near future – preferably in the summer when the hammerhead sharks aren’t around!”

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the host of the event, is the private, non-profit partner to the federally managed National Marine Sanctuary System. The Foundation supports the outreach and education activities of the nationwide network of marine sanctuaries.

The event begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m., at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, #1 Canal Street, New Orleans. The Presenting Sponsors of this tribute dinner are BellSouth, Global Industries, Ltd., and The Shell Oil Company. Supporting Sponsors include: BP America; Acadian Ambulance Service; Entergy; McMoRan Exploration Co.; Kerr-McGee; The Dow Chemical Company; Adams and Reese LLP; Dominion Exploration and Production; and, Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denègre, LLP.