For immediate release
Contact: Kim Philippi
kphillippi@buildingconservation.org
(713) 626-4234

Shell Oil Company Awards $500,000 to BCT’s Marine Habitat Initiative
Partnership will Benefit Habitat in Louisiana, Texas and Washington 

HOUSTON, Texas – (April 3, 2018) – Shell Oil Company has awarded a grant of $500,000 to Coastal Conservation Association’s (CCA’s) National Habitat Program, Building Conservation Trust (BCT). The Shell U.S. Grant will fund marine habitat projects in Louisiana, Texas and Washington during 2018.

“Shell Oil Company has demonstrated a strong dedication to conserving our marine resources,” said John Carlson, chairman of Building Conservation Trust. “We are grateful to be the recipient of this award and committed to putting these funds towards impactful, worthy and sustainable habitat projects.”

The marine habitat projects being funded by Shell Oil Company in Louisiana will also partner with CCA Louisiana. The projects will focus on protecting land, as land loss is a critical issue in this area. Shell Oil Company’s funding of marine habitat projects in Texas will support habitat creation, such as artificial reefs, and will include CCA Texas as a partner. Additionally, Shell Oil Company is partnering with BCT and CCA Washington to aid in the recovery of Olympia Oysters in the south-central Puget Sound, improve water quality, restore nearshore habitat for Pacific oysters and a variety of fish species, increase salmonid production, and improve juvenile salmonid survival in marine environments.

The Shell Oil Company/BCT partnership was established several years ago. In 2010, Shell Oil Company announced that it would provide $1.5 million in funding over three years to the Coastal Conservation Association habitat program and paved the way for a series of large-scale, angler-driven marine habitat projects in areas of critical importance. This initial funding set the foundation for the creation of Building Conservation Trust in 2013.

Building Conservation Trust was created to provide vital funding for grassroots-driven projects that achieve one or more of five key objectives: Restore degraded habitats; Create new habitats; Advance the science of coastal habitat and marine fisheries conservation; Foster habitat stewardship; and Educate coastal communities of the value of conservation.

“This partnership is extraordinary in that it promotes and fulfills all of BCT’s core values,” said Sean Stone, executive director of Building Conservation Trust. “We are excited to continue to build upon our valuable relationship with Shell Oil Company in an effort to conserve vital marine resources in Louisiana, Texas and Washington.”

### 

The Building Conservation Trust (BCT) was founded in 2013 as the national marine habitat program of Coastal Conservation Association. BCT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to providing funding for local, state and national fisheries, habitat conservation and restoration projects. BCT has created a model for the successful collaboration of business, non-profit organizations and government agencies to revitalize critical habitat and establish a vibrant foundation for the marine ecosystem.

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 20,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future. Environmental stewardship is one-way Shell has continued to share benefits with communities over the past 100 years. Since 1999, Shell has focused our partnerships with many organizations in the U.S. to protect more than 13 million acres of wetlands, clean and remove 600,000 pounds of debris from shoreline, and conserve more than 1.8 million acres of critical habitat.