2025 conference theme

You often hear people say that the only constant in south Louisiana is change. That may seem like a paradox, but to those of us living here, it makes perfect sense. One may apply it to our coastal wetlands, to our fisheries, to our industries, to our communities, even to our football team. The concept always rings true: things look far different today than they did yesterday, and the decisions we’re making now will help decide what they’ll look like in the future.  

That concept has informed the theme of our 2025 State of the Coast (SOC) conference: Our Changing Coast. For the people who attend SOC, change is a big part of their work, their research and their lives. Some conference-goers are focused on slowing change. Others may look at ways to adapt to it. All are aware that it is inevitable.  

Several milestone dates are on our minds as well, events that marked forks in the road for our state’s coastal program. 2025 is the 30^th anniversary of the Breaux Act, for instance. It’s also the 20^th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 15^th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We expect these events to be parts of the program that is already taking shape.   

On a more immediate level, the 2025 conference will be in a fresh, new location inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. We’ll be in Hall I during the conference, from May 20-22. We hope to see you there.

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