Shell Partners with Ducks Unlimited to Support The Mississippi River Delta Splays Project

Grant of $100,000 will help fund restoration of wetlands in the Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area/Mississippi River Delta Crevasse Splays in Louisiana

HOUSTON - Shell Oil Company (Shell) today announced that it has partnered with Ducks Unlimited in The Delta Splays Project, an initiative that will restore 1,300 acres of wetlands in the Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area/Mississippi River Delta Crevasse Splays. Other project partners include the Breaux Act, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Shell's $100,000 grant will help fund efforts to open or re-open the natural levee in the area in order to re-sediment it and build wetlands. The objective is to reconnect the river with its deltaic wetlands, by allowing sediment-laden water to flow freely from the main channel, depositing sediment and rebuilding marshes that are extremely valuable to a host of area wildlife.

"Shell has a long-standing commitment to environmental protection, and we are proud to be a supporter of Ducks Unlimited's wetlands conservation work along the Mississippi River Delta," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company and U.S. country chair. "The preservation of Louisiana's ecosystem and coastline is very important to Shell, our customers and the communities where we operate, and our approximately 4,000 employees who live and work in the region. Shell's contribution demonstrates our dedication to promoting efforts that will protect and preserve Louisiana's unique ecosystem and natural assets for future generations."



(From left to right) Mary Margaret Hamilton, manager of Social Investment for Shell Oil Company, and Sam Smolik, vice president of Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Sustainable Development for Shell Chemical Company, presents DU's advisory senior vice president for youth and education Lisa Harris and senior director of development Johnny Belz with Shell Oil Company's $100,000 check.

Ken Babcock, director of operations at Duck Unlimited's Southern Regional Office, welcomes the new partnership with Shell to restore waterfowl habitat on Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area.

"We are proud to partner with Shell, their contribution will result in real, on-the-ground wetlands conservation. The net result is more waterfowl foraging habitat, improved fisheries, better birding, and a healthier coastal ecosystem," Babcock stated.

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. Including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, Shell Oil Company is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell in the U.S. is a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature's most productive ecosystems - and continues to lose more than 100,000 wetland acres each year.


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