Inaugural Southwest Louisiana Coastal Summit to be held this OCtober

One-day event in Lake Charles convenes business leaders, scientists, engineers, public officials

MARCH 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

The inaugural Southwest Louisiana Coastal Summit is scheduled for Oct. 27 at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. The one-day event, hosted by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, will convene hundreds of business leaders, scientists, engineers, public officials and others to focus on the unique challenges and opportunities facing southwest Louisiana’s coast.

“Southwest Louisiana is an incredible working coast, home to globally important energy and maritime industries, and also a place of beauty, abundance and deep cultural pride. The challenges here are real, and so is the opportunity,” said Kim Reyher, executive director of CRCL. “This summit is about bringing science, industry and community together to chart a practical path forward.”

The theme of the summit — Our Future Coast: Uniting Science, Industry and Community — reflects the belief that the future of southwest Louisiana depends on these groups working together. The region’s challenges are complex and distinct from other parts of the Louisiana coast, and progress will require practical solutions based on science, informed by industry and shaped by the communities that live and work there.

Attendees can expect plenary sessions and concurrent sessions of panel discussions, presentations and workshops. CRCL will open a call for proposals from people hoping to be on the summit program this spring. Registration will open this spring as well. Sponsorships are available. Information on the summit can be found online.

“There is so much to talk about at the Southwest Louisiana Coastal Summit,” said Rene Escuriex, a native of New Iberia who serves on the CRCL board of directors and is on the summit’s steering committee. “I believe that real solutions can be achieved only by working together. This summit will enable difficult conversations and serve as a catalyst for action to better protect our future here.”

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana was the first statewide nonprofit dedicated to addressing coastal land loss. CRCL advocates for science-based, large-scale restoration and undertakes boots-on-the-ground volunteer projects. The organization also hosts the biennial State of the Coast conference. In southwest Louisiana, recent work includes planting dune grasses at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Little Florida Beach, Rutherford Beach and Holly Beach, planting oak trees and grasses in Cameron Parish, and hosting community meetings and lectures in Abbeville, Lake Charles and Cameron.  

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The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite people in action to achieve a thriving, sustainable Louisiana coast for all.