Featured Customer Vignette

Featured Customer: Marietta Greene
Location: Metairie, LA
Job Title: President, Madison Land Company
Date: March 2008

Marietta Greene
- A Legacy in Coastal Wetlands Conservation

She is a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, artist, leader, and conservationist -- but most humbly, she is the daughter of a proud conservationist. Mrs. Marietta Greene’s heartfelt love and admiration for Louisiana’s coastal wetlands comes from her father, who was a stellar conservationist of the vast property that the family proudly holds dear. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University’s College of Agriculture. As the President of the Madison Land Company, she continues to lead the tradition of protecting and conserving over 15,000 acres of valuable marsh in seven coastal Louisiana parishes.

The management of the land was passed from her maternal grandfather to her father who is said to have never met a stranger. As a leader in the conservation effort, her father began petitioning legislators more than 60 years ago to do something about Louisiana’s vanishing coast and marsh areas. He worked with state and federal agencies and other partners to complete marsh plans on various areas of the Madison Land Company’s holdings.

After her father’s sudden death, Marietta found herself at the helm of the Madison Land Company in 1991. She continues to fight for what is near and dear to her heart – the land that her father and grandfather greatly loved. Though she wasn’t exactly sure where to start, she set out to meet key people and build alliances with groups and organizations that could help her in her new role as president.

“When my father died, I didn’t know what to do,” said Marietta. “There was no one to manage the property – little by little we met people who could help us. I found that it took a constant ability to be there and speak-up nicely, to get things accomplished,” said Marietta in her calm and thoughtful manner. “I learned how to lobby for our wetland efforts without having any money to do it.”

Never afraid to confront political leaders and heads of organizations, Marietta never misses an opportunity to preach a message on protecting coastal wetlands, asking for assistance or lobbying for more to be done.

“I saw Senator Vitter out with his family at a restaurant and I walked up to him to ask about a spillway,” said Marietta and then also points out, “I had the NRCS State Conservationist’s personal cell phone number.”

Marietta utilizes the people she meets and gets them involved in conservation. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) became a vital turning point for the wetland conservation efforts that Marietta had planned.

Since the inception of CWPPRA, Marietta has worked closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources on planning and implementing six CWPPRA projects on Madison Land Company property. These projects will benefit 1,163 acres of valuable coastal Louisiana marsh.

“You need the help of others,” said Marietta. “We were very lucky, providential, that we met with the NRCS-- the friendliest agency by far.”
Through the Madison Land Company, Mrs. Greene has also successfully worked with Ducks Unlimited in planning and implementing a coastal restoration project funded through a North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant.

This project installed duck-wing terraces on 580 acres of degraded marsh on Madison Land Company property in Jefferson Parish. Ducks Unlimited partnered with a diverse group of federal, state, local and private entities on this project including the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, Camp Club, Inc., Madison Land Company, and NRCS.

Mrs. Greene is currently a Louisiana Landowners Association (LLA) board member. LLA represents hundreds of large and small landowners from across the state. It provides increased political leverage and access by utilizing the resources of member landowners. Mrs. Greene was also an active supervisor for the Crescent Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) board for ten years. She has also been a cooperator in the DNR/NRCS/SWCC Multi-Year Vegetative Planting Program. This year, the program will plant 9,000 linear feet of smooth cordgrass on Madison Land Company property. In previous years of the program, two to three miles of vegetation have been planted on the property as part of this program.

So, why does Mrs. Marietta Greene work so hard at protecting coastal wetlands? Why is she fighting to save pristine habitat and Louisiana’s vibrant historical inheritance that makes the coastal wetlands so vital? To simply state the answer – pride.

“When my father died, it was sudden and it was hard. I was very close to him,” said Marietta. “Now it’s my legacy to preserve the land that was preserved for me so that I can pass it on to my children and grandchildren…I want it to be there for them and the future.”

Mrs. Marietta Greene is so many things to her friends, relatives, art students, co-workers and the community. She has been a leader, continually turning the odds against her into positives that worked for her in her fight to protect the land. She is shielding a legacy, heritage, habitat, a way of life, and the future of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Her devotion and loyal actions can be seen in numerous projects and with strong conviction she will continue to preach of the importance for coastal wetland viability.

She has planted many seeds that have grown throughout Louisiana’s coastal wetland conservation efforts, but it all comes back to – being a daughter. She is the proud daughter of a vibrant conservationist. Marietta has taken the torch and is moving forward to preserve a legacy for all.