Seth Blitch
Coastal and Marine Conservation Director, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Seth Blitch Coastal and marine conservation director of The Nature Conservancy in Louisiana. © Audra Melton
Areas of Expertise
Coastal and marine conservation, coastal habitat restoration, coastal resource management
Biography
Seth was born, raised and lived in Florida his entire life before moving to Baton Rouge in 2011 to work for TNC. "Having spent much of my childhood and career on the Gulf, it’s hard to nail down a favorite memory here," he says. "But the thing that first inspired me as a child, and continues to do so today as a parent, is fishing with my family. Time on the Gulf with those you cherish can’t be beat."
Seth’s love of the Gulf led him to a career in which he’s now able to be involved in efforts to restore and protect it. At TNC, he oversees conservation and restoration activities along Louisiana’s coastal areas that produce benefits for nature and people. Before joining TNC, Seth was the director of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in the Florida panhandle. While there he led efforts to characterize how reduced flows from the Apalachicola, Chatahoochee, and Flint rivers were affecting the natural communities within Apalachicola Bay, which produces 90 percent of Florida’s commercially harvested oysters. Seth also served as the northwest regional administrator for Florida’s aquatic preserve program.
Seth, who has a biology degree from the University of Central Florida, says restoration is a process that must be embraced locally. "And when coastal communities—and beyond—recognize the value of the Gulf and even celebrate their connection to this body of water, restoration makes good sense to people."