Louis Bacon and his colleague Ann Colley have been
personally thanked by the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.
Congratulating Bacon as a notable conservationist, Mayor
Bloomberg spoke at the Jamaica Bay Science and Resilience Institute launch on
13 August 2013 about the work of the private sector to help protect the local
environment.
Mayor Bloomberg said: “We would like to thank the private
sector and philanthropic partners whose generosity is helping make those
efforts possible, and that includes Louis Bacon and Ann Colley of Moore
Charitable [Foundation].”
Jamaica Bay is an area that was completely ruined by
Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and the vast bay has had to come under protection to
preserve its wetlands and natural woodland. The Science and Resilience
Institute has been designed to research how to better protect the area, with a
combination of research institutions and not-for-profit organisations teaming
up to take part.
Prestigious groups involved include the Rockefeller
Foundation, the National Park Service, the Secunda Family Foundation, National
Grid and environment philanthropist Louis Bacon. The City University of New
York will be at the head of the new institute, with significant involvement from
Cornell, Columbia and Rutgers universities.
Louis Bacon has had much involvement in the New York area with regard to conservation,
having purchased Robins Island (part of Long Island) through an easement with
the aim of restoring its natural habitats and waterways. He also purchased Cow
Neck Farm in Long Island and donated the easement to the Peconic Land Trust,
halting any development plans that may have damaged the land.
The acknowledgement by the Mayor of New York came only a few
scant days after another pillar of the New York preservation community, the
Peconic Land Trust, recognised Louis Bacon for his work towards conserving Long
Island’s endangered working farms and natural land.
2013 has been a year of recognition for Louis Bacon and his
various charitable foundations. In January 2013, he had the honour of being
added to the recipients of the Audubon Medal, as an acknowledgement of his
life-long achievements in conservation. A few months later, Forbes listed him
as one of the greenest billionaires in the world.
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