July 15, 2011 Ms.

Nicole Hobson Smith Executive Director Louisiana State Office of Historic Preservation 1051 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Dear Ms. Hobson Smith, On behalf of the Executive Committee of Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, I am writing to lend our support to listing two Katrina levee breach sites in the National Register of Historic Places. After hurricane Katrina, the devastation of our flood protection system was a wake up call for drastic change. In November 2005, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, a grass-roots organization, was formed motivated by outrage over the states legislative failure to overhaul the workings of the numerous levee boards serving Southeast Louisiana. Garnering over 53,000 signatures, Citizens for1 led the charge in organizing the call for reform. Residents of New Orleans stood up and demanded a levee governing board comprised of industry professionals who would not be partial to parochialism or patronage. In March 2006, the Legislature approved historic legislation to dissolve local levee commissions and create the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority. Six months later, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment to consolidate and reform levee management in the region. Post Katrina, the 17th Street Canal and the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal sites embody historical and cultural significance for both New Orleanians and Americans at large. As a direct result of these flood walls failing, an entire way of life enjoyed by the citizens of one of Americas oldest cities had been threatened. And, in Katrinas aftermath, the unprecedented diaspora of New Orleans residents to every state in our Union propelled this event from a local issue to a national one. In an amazing collaboration to rebuild and restore New Orleans and its way of life, federal, state, and local government authorities joined forces with the community to fund, research, erect, operate and maintain a world-class levee system. More impressively, these two repaired breach sites are the physical representation of long- respected, implicit American ideals including: 1. The right of its citizens to live in safety and security; 2. Our nations ability to achieve extraordinary engineering advancements (in the building of new flood gate structures) to safeguard citizens and benefit all Americans; and, 3. The freedom of citizens to petition government to protect rights and effect change.

I strongly urge you to consider these sites for inclusion in the Register. Respectfully submitted, Ruthie Frierson Founder and Chairman Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans www.citizensfor1.com (504) 866-8891