Hypoxia Network Culture

American Corn Growers Association

The role which they attempt to portray is that of a true representative group of America's Corn Farmers. They educate farmers, media, policy makers, and the general public of the realities of today's corn markets and production practices.

They can be expected to provide a progressive stance on policy issues. For example, rather than blaming foreign markets for not purchasing GMOs, they focus on poor American policies that make it difficult for GMO and non-GMO crops to be marketed seperately.

Although they wish to protect the Gulf of Mexico, their values are not those of an environmental organization. Their main intention is support the family farmer. When supporting initiatives to protect the coastal waters, they do so to save farmers money on input costs. The advocate for subsidizing soil testing; what they see to be the best solution to overuse of nitrogen.

Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF)

Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF)

LPBF is a citizen’s organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the Lake Ponchartrain Basin. Lake Ponchartain is a brackish lake in Louisiana and the second largest salt water lake in the US. The Lake has suffered from host of negative impacts, including: sprawl, wastewater, erosion, invasive species, and litter.

Role
LPBF sees itself as the steward of the LP Basin, responsible for maintaining the area’s unique ecological function and aesthetic beauty.

Norms
LPBF provides classroom presentations, field programs, educational resources, and public service opportunities free of charge to teachers, students, and schools. LPBF is also active in monitoring water quality, creating awareness campaigns for various LP issues. LPBF is also an active monitor of environmental compliance.

Values
Citizen-centered
Interdisciplinary – focused on whatever is detrimental to the lake
Partner focus – developed partnerships with many groups and government agencies to get their work done

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program

The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program lays out the definition of an estuary, why they are important, and what the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary encompasses (the area between th Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in south Louisiana). They are charged with designing and implementing a comprehensive resource management plan in the estuary.

Values: They believe that estuary systems combine physical and biological factors to produce an ecosystem unrivaled in productivity and commerce. They call estuaries the "cradles of civilization" and want to be good stewards of them while still caring for the economic and cultural issues of the region.

Roles: The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program's challenge is to move forward as good stewards of the natural resources that remain within the estuary complex. Their management plan was developed under democratic process through a conference with public agreement.

Norms: They want to gain further understanding of the some of the following components of an estuary:
Sediment, Habitats, Cultural aspects, Water quality, Species populations and changes, and economic factors. They aim to do this through their comprehensive management plan with coordinated planning and implementation of projects, ecological management, sustained recognition and citizen recognition. They seem to use a lot of field trips for hands on education and awareness building.

The Holy Cross Neighborhood Association

The Holy Cross Neighborhood Association is located in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans, on the levees of the Mississippi River. The oldest structures in the neighborhood date back to the 1830’s. The neighborhood is named after Holy Cross Church, built in 1852 and still standing, even after Hurricane Katrina. Irish and Italian immigrants and former African American, slaves settled the neighborhood by building their homes on a flood plain. Business owners and residents organized the association to make this impoverished neighborhood safer and cleaner. The HCNA was also created to preserve the historic character of the streetscape and the historic relationship to the Mississippi, by making it cleaner. The Holy Cross Neighborhood was among the New Orleans neighborhoods that suffered the most destruction after Hurricane Katrina. The future of the Neighborhood is being debated around the question of whether or not to reconstruct it, or to clear the land and leave it as an uninhabited natural flood zone.

Role
1) Make the neighborhood cleaner and safer.
2) Preserve the historic character of the neighborhood.
3) Preserve the historic relationship of the Mississippi River to the neighborhood, by making it cleaner.
4) Encourage the social, environmental and economic development of the neighborhood.

Norms
1) Collaborate with individuals and organizations with the goal of cleaning up the Mississippi river.
2) Advocate for equitable enforcement of environmental protections.
3) Sponsor Community garden.
4) Sponsoring a river clean-up.
5) Sponsoring and promoting a neighborhood festival.
6) Advocate for the repair of the river levee.
7) Halt the reconstruction of the Industrial Canal Locks.
8) Initiating an effort to restore and improve city services in the neighborhood.
9) Encouraging people to buy and renovate historic homes.

Values
1) Recognizing that the riverside neighborhood is a part of the entire Mississippi River ecosystem.
2) Advocating for environmental justice.
3) Recognizing that people are part of the river ecosystem.

Izaak Walton Leauge

Role:
The Izaak Walton League of America Mission Statement: To conserve, maintain, protect and restore the soil, forest, water and other natural resources of the United States and other lands; to promote means and opportunities for the education of the public with respect to such resources and their enjoyment and wholesome utilization. Members of the League enjoy angling, birding, stream monitoring, wildlife photography and hunting.

Norms:
The 50,000 members of the Izaak Walton League are expected to protect and responsibly use natural resources. They are also involved with many environmental laws.

Values:
The Izaak Walton League was formed "to save outdoor America for future generations." They are one of the oldest conservation organizations and the first to set an aggressive course to defend wild America by changing public policy. Most conservation programs in the US can be traced back to one of their activity or initiative.

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute provides education, research on organic and biodynamic farming practices and technical assistance to help farmers revitalize their farms, and they help to shape public policy towards the same objective. MFAI has four main projects. The first is a program to develop a healthy regional food system. They are attempting to do this by working with all parts of the food system from building supply with farmers, demand from buyers, including individual consumers, restaurants, and institutions, and creating the necessary infrastructure. The second initiative is concerned with public policy on sustainable agriculture. The MFAI works to preserve and increase funding for sustainable agriculture projects and they work to keep government programs in place that support sustainable farming practices. A third project is focused on sustainable agriculture practices; currently this is focused on corn breeding and the “Organic Matter Budgeter”. The fourth initiative is the education of grain and livestock producers, agriculture professionals and beginning farmers. MFAI has outdoor demonstration plots where practices can be observed and taught. Some of the underlying values of the organization are that freedom and democracy are tied to the farming culture and this culture is lost with the loss of farmers. They also believe that humans’ existence depends on the ability to cultivate our own food. Another value is that humans need a food system that does not use a disproportionate number of non-renewable resources, relies on practices that can be sustained for generations. Finally, the organization feels that collaborations with other organizations are vital.

MFAI mission statement: “Our mission is to cultivate the ecological, social, economic, and spiritual vitality of food and farming systems through education, research, policy and market development.”

Environmental Law and Policy Center

Role

The ELPC is a nonprofit advocacy organization that attempts to do the following things in the Midwest:
1) Achieve cleaner energy resources
2) Implement sustainable energy strategies
3) Promote innovative and efficient transportation and land use approaches that produce cleaner air and more jobs
4) Develop sound environmental management practices that conserve natural resources and improve the quality of life in midwestern communities

Norms

The ELPC’s website does not go into much detail regarding what the organization actually does. However, it is an advocacy organization, and most of its work appears to consist of:
1) Pulling together information about ways to improve environmental quality in the Midwest and communicating this information to policy-makers and the public.
2) Carrying out legal action to prevent environmentally damaging actions
and
3) Collaborating with, and providing legal representation and technical services such as economic analyses and public policy research to, local environmental organizations.

Projects that it is currently taking part in include efforts to:
1) Identify and develop markets for “green” products, such as recycled paper and building materials,
2) Promote the development of clean power resources and energy efficiency,
3) Encourage better transportation systems (better road planning, more mass transit, etc.), and
4) Protect natural areas from human activities such as logging and mining

Values

The ELPC’s work is motivated by two major beliefs:
1) Environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together.
2) Energy, transportation, and conservation issues are increasingly regional in scope, complex, and require coordinated strategies to shape public policy.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a private and non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitat. The goals of the foundation are to promote healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants by eliciting new funds for conservation. This goal is met by creating partnerships between the public and private sectors and investing in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The NFWF focuses on the areas of working ecosystems and healthy habitats, conservation of critical species, education and stewardship, and evaluation and innovation.
The foundation does these things by matching grants, building partnerships amoung federal, state, and local governments, corporations, private foundations, individuals, and non-profit organizations, leveraging funds, and delivering revenue. Their vision is to have healthy, richer and more abundant popluations of fish, wildlife and plants for the future. Overall, the Foundation sees the value in collecting multi-facitied resourses and believes that the most lasting conservation is achieved with the support and commitment of neighboring communities that co-exist with our natural resources.

From Marilyn

LUMCON - "The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) was formed in 1979 to coordinate and stimulate Louisiana's activities in marine research and education. LUMCON provides coastal laboratory facilities to Louisiana universities, and conducts research and educational programs in the marine sciences."
More later.

Practical Farmers of Iowa

Practical Farmers of Iowa sees itself as an education and outreach organization. Its primary role is to educate the public about the value of locally grown food and to help farmers practice methods that will make their products more locally attractive and available. To fill this role the PFI supports farm-to-market initiatives, on-farm research, and special programs aimed at bringing youth to a better understanding of what goes on at a farm. PFI also sponsors a number of events that help farmers network with one another and share insights and resources: field days, conferences, a newsletter, and web resources.

The organization as a whole values many of the aspects of "sustainability" that are often addressed in our class, especially healthy food, biodiversity, local food connections, healthy soils, and vibrant communities. Its vision is especially focused around the characteristics of good farming: hard work, good stewardship, a connection to the past, sustainable incomes, and creative thinking. The vision for Iowa includes "places where the working landscape, the fresh air and the clean water remind us of all that is good about Iowa."