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Air Products Donates $10,000 to Support the Preservation of the Alligator Snapping Turtle in Louisiana

ST. AMANT, La. – Air Products, through its Lake Maurepas Community Fund, has donated $10,000 to the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation to support efforts to increase the population of the alligator snapping turtle, which is a threatened species.

The Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation breeds alligator snapping turtles and raises them for two years before releasing them into the wild, including the waterways that lead to Lake Maurepas, in hope that they reproduce.

Air Products employees join the head of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation to present a check for $10,000. From left to right, Danna LeBlanc, Commercial Executive Director of Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, Jeff Bellelo of Air Products and Ben Naquin of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation.

“Air Products is excited to support the great work of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation, which has become a labor of love for Ben Naquin and his family and supporters,” said Danna Leblanc, Commercial Executive Director of Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which is being constructed in Ascension Parish. “This donation will help expand the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation’s work to increase the population and provide the hatchling turtles a larger environment in which to grow before being released into the waterways.”

The donation supports Naquin’s efforts to build a free-flowing system that will pump water from a canal into large pools in a climate-controlled facility, which will be a friendlier environment for hatchling turtles, increasing their chances of long-term survival by promoting growth before they are released.

“This donation will allow us to greatly expand the work that we are doing to preserve the alligator snapping turtle in Louisiana and we greatly appreciate Air Products’ support of our conservation efforts,” said Naquin, executive director of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation.

About the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund
Air Products supports the communities where it operates through community giving and employee volunteer efforts. In addition to grants through the Air Products Foundation, in 2023, the company launched the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund, which plans to contribute $1 million per year to community projects that meet its intended mission during the duration of the operation of the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which is expected to be at least 25 years.

Already through the Fund, Air Products has made grants to worthwhile projects with the Livingston Parish Fire Protection District #2 and the Manchac Volunteer Fire Department for enhanced public safety efforts on Lake Maurepas; the Livingston Fire Protection District #2 to support its ongoing staffing needs; and for a Lake Maurepas fish restocking program managed by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, among others. 
The Fund supports parishes bordering Lake Maurepas by supporting needed educational, ecological, and recreational projects, with a focus on Livingston, St. John the Baptist, and Tangipahoa Parishes.

Looking forward, Air Products strives to continue its more than five-decade history of safe and responsible operations in Louisiana, both through its proposed Louisiana Clean Energy Complex currently under development and in future investments. To learn more, visit: http://Community.CleanEnergyLouisiana.com.

Ben Naquin of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Founda􀆟on holds baby alligator snapping turtles.

Ben Naquin of the Louisiana Alligator Snapping Turtle Foundation holds baby alligator snapping turtles

About the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex
Air Products is developing the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which will advance energy independence by creating clean energy at a blue hydrogen production plant. This project is Air Products’ largest investment in the United States and will help Louisiana meet its long-term carbon-reduction goals while creating and supporting local jobs. 

The new facility will create 170 new permanent jobs with an average salary of $93,000 a year, and 2,000 construction jobs. Currently, Air Products employs 330 people in Louisiana at 18 facilities across the state, with employees actively contributing to the communities where they live and work.

For more detailed information about Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, please visit CleanEnergyLouisiana.com. People can also follow the project on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.