Karen Gautreaux

As The Nature Conservancy’s Louisiana State Director, Karen Gautreaux leads a talented staff focused on long lasting land, water and biodiversity conservation in the Pelican State. In this role, Karen cultivates relationships with donors, trustees and partners representing the government, business, academic, philanthropic and non-profit sectors. She also provides leadership for fundraising and advocacy initiatives that support TNC’s local, regional and global priorities.

Karen Gautreaux began working at TNC in 2008 as the Director of Government Relations in Louisiana. In that capacity, she worked with public and private partners to advance the conservation of important habitats in the state, region and nation. This included participating in policy development and assisting with planning on-the-ground restoration projects. During this time, Karen also served on the Governor’s Coastal Advisory Commission, participated on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s Coastal Advisory Team for the state’s Coastal Master Plan, and served as a member of the Governor’s Climate Initiatives and Atchafalaya River Restoration and Enhancement task forces.

Before joining TNC, Karen served as Deputy Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under Governor Kathleen Blanco, a full-circle moment since she began her public service career at the Louisiana DEQ’s Office of Policy and Planning in 1989. Karen also headed the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities under Governor Mike Foster. While serving as a special assistant to Governor Foster, Karen led the development of the state’s groundwater management policy, served as chair of the Governor’s Water Policy Advisory and Groundwater Management task forces, and on the Groundwater Management Commission.

Reflecting on the Year’s Conservation Wins

December 2024

Learn more in the Winter 2024 Louisiana Nature News.

It’s hard to believe that we are about to turn the page on another year of conserving nature in Louisiana. In 2024, our goals became more ambitious, and the need to reach them gained urgency in response to mounting evidence of global biodiversity loss and climate change. Thanks to your support, we can continue to raise the bar for what we hope to accomplish with partners and colleagues here in Louisiana and throughout the southeastern United States.

On land, The Nature Conservancy secured 283 acres in Louisiana, including the recent expansion of our CC Road Savanna Preserve. We also delivered prescribed fire to 2,515 acres and planted 118,000 seedlings on 373 acres to restore the ecological health of native longleaf pine savanna that once covered more than 90 million acres across our region.

In the water, we installed 1.5 miles of oyster reefs—bringing our new total to 9 miles—in an effort to restore this critical wildlife habitat that provides resilience against storms, sea-level rise and erosion. We also joined partner RTI International in introducing Nature-Based Solutions Explorer, a new freshwater management tool, to an international audience of 71 peers at World Water Week.

We continued to seek and embrace opportunities to leverage support for our mission. Thanks to a grant from the USDA Forest Service and support from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, we launched Treesilience to restore tree canopies in southeastern and southwestern Louisiana parishes hit hardest by the 2020 and 2021 storms. It was also satisfying to secure $1 million for Louisiana Outdoors Forever to advance conservation projects around the state and connect with hundreds of visitors to the annual Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival.

That’s just a taste of all we were able to achieve in 2024, thanks to your support. We appreciate all that you do for nature in Louisiana and look forward to seeing what we accomplish together in the year to come. Thank you and Happy New Year!