Suzanne (Sue) R. Hawes was a dedicated advocate and leader for the restoration and protection of coastal Louisiana and worked diligently to bring together the many stakeholders of our region. Her passion, expertise and abilities were unique and will be deeply missed.
Professionally, she served the residents of Louisiana as the Project Manager for the Environment for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, where she worked tirelessly since 1971. Her experience with the US Army Corps of Engineers has been invaluable to many in providing insight and a collective history of how we approach the management of our coastal system. Her position was unique as she was the one and only Project Manager for the Environment. The integrity she brought to her work provided many with a critical liaison with the Corps of Engineers.
Sue was often described as the environmental conscience of the Corps of Engineers. She was that and much more. She was a champion of good science, strong communities, and honest stewardship of the environment. But first and last she was an inspiringly good person. It was an honor to have been her friend.
-Mark Davis, Tulane Institute of Water Resource Policy and Law
Former Executive Director for CRCL
She worked to help the Corps of Engineers find consistency between coastal restoration, flood control and navigation projects. She was a self-proclaimed “peacemaker” and served to build a bridge between federal and state agencies, stakeholders and the environmental community. She has been an active Board Member at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana since 1998. In that time, Sue has given us hundreds of hours of her personal time to attend board meetings, Coalition-sponsored functions, hearings and meetings. She was always ready to provide guidance and expertise to staff.
As a young woman working in coastal science, Sue has been an incredible inspiration. She was objective, she was direct and she always relied on science and as a result she was one of the most respected women working in this field.
-Natalie Snider, Science Director at CRCL
Not only on the Board of Directors at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Sue served on the Executive Committee for Sierra Club New Orleans, on the Executive Committee for the Sierra Club Delta Chapter, and on the Barataria-Terrebonne Nation Estuary Program Management Conference.
She hosted workshops, interacted with stakeholders and had a unique ability to explain in layman’s terms the ecological and historical overview of coastal landloss and current restoration efforts. CRCL would often call on her to provide that presentation to inform the public. She was a strong advocate for public participation in government, and was awarded the Paul Templet Award for Governmental Leadership from the Sierra Club, Delta Chapter in 2007 for her efforts.
I worked with Sue on a number of projects over the years and my thought was always that she was objective and dedicated to doing the right thing. She was always a breath of fresh air amidst the bureaucrats and pessimists and always had a sense of humor whether we agreed or disagreed.
-David Richard, Stream Properties and CRCL Board Member
Sue also served on the Scientific Technical Committee and Review Team for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, served as “Basin Captain” for the Pontchartrain Basin and “Coastal Admiral” during the 1993 CWPPRA Restoration Plan, was heavily involved in every aspect of CWPPRA planning and served as an unofficial advisor to the Technical Committee and Task Force. She was an author of the Coast 2050 Plan and served as Regional 2 Team Leader. She was heavily involved in the Louisiana Coastal Area Study, Marsh Dieback Syndrome, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) closure and restoration plan, Bayou Trepagnier Remediation, Caernarvon and Davis Pond Diversions and many, many more. There probably wasn’t a single restoration project that Sue was not involved in or lent her expertise to. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she even became heavily engaged in the environmental activities associated with design and rebuilding of New Orleans levee system.
Her extraordinary career merited recognition with the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in 2005. She was also awarded the 2001 Governor's Award for Professional Conservationist of the Year by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, a Special Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation in 2005 and the Paul Templet Award for Governmental Leadership from the Sierra Club, Delta Chapter in 2007.
With Sue’s passing there is tremendous sadness, punctuated softly by the personal gratitude for simply having known and worked with such an extraordinary person. We will miss her dearly, but we can celebrate her life by continuing the work she so deeply loved.
-Steven Peyronnin, Executive Director for CRCL
Services will be held at Muhleisen Funeral Home at 2607 Williams Boulevard, in Kenner on Saturday, July 10, 2010. Visitation will be from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, followed by a funeral from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. There will be a reception dinner at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at 5025 Cleveland Place, Metairie, Louisiana following the services.
In Remembrance
Sue Hawes was a long-time supporter and member of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. She graciously offered her expertise and advice on many of LPBF’s environmental issues and projects. She was on the working group that created LPBF’s Comprehensive Habitat Management Plan. With all of her contributions to LPBF, the most endearing one was her role as a Lake Ambassador, educating the public and school children about the Pontchartrain Basin. She was a selfless giver who patiently and tirelessly worked to improve our environment.
-Anne Rheams, Executive Director, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
SUE was an inspiration to those who had the good fortune to work with her in her pursuit to protect and enhance Louisiana's wetland complex. Especially in her latter years.
-Edgar Veillon, Board Member of CRCL
