Oh Snap - Preserving Louisiana's Threatened Wildlife

One Louisiana man and his family have grown their interest in preserving a threatened species of alligator snapping turtles into a foundation that cares for and releases hundreds of young turtles back into the wild each year.

Now, thanks to a donation from the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund, the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation is able to expand the habitat where it hatches and grows these young turtles before they return to Louisiana’s waterways.

Air Products, through its Lake Maurepas Community Fund, has donated $10,000 to the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation to support efforts to increase the population of the alligator snapping turtle, which is a threatened species.

The Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation breeds alligator snapping turtles and raises them for two years before releasing them into the wild, including the waterways that lead to Lake Maurepas, in hope that they reproduce.

Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund supports the preservation of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle.

“Air Products is excited to support the great work of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation, which has become a labor of love for Ben Naquin and his family and supporters,” said Danna Leblanc, Commercial Executive Director of Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex.

“This donation will help expand the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation’s work to increase the population and provide the hatchling turtles a larger environment in which to grow before being released into the waterways.”

The donation supports Naquin’s efforts to build a free-flowing system that will pump water from a canal into large pools in a climatecontrolled facility, which will be a friendlier environment for hatchling turtles, increasing their chances of long-term survival by promoting growth before they are released.

“This donation will allow us to greatly expand the work that we are doing to preserve the alligator snapping turtle in Louisiana, and we greatly appreciate Air Products’ support of our conservation efforts,” said Ben Naquin, Executive Director of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation.

Air Products supports the communities where it operates through community giving and employee volunteer efforts. In addition to grants through the Air Products Foundation in 2023, the company launched the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund, which plans to contribute $1 million per year to community projects that meet its intended mission during the duration of the operation of the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which is expected to be at least 25 years.

The Fund supports parishes bordering Lake Maurepas by supporting needed educational, ecological, and recreational projects, with a focus on Livingston, St. John the Baptist, and Tangipahoa Parishes.

Looking forward, Air Products strives to continue its more than five-decade history of safe and responsible operations in Louisiana, both through its proposed Louisiana Clean Energy Complex currently under development and in future investments. To learn more, visit: Community.CleanEnergyLouisiana.com.