Featured Native Plant Advocate - Lawrence Rozas

Lawrence is a tireless volunteer in nearly every aspect of our mission. He worked for 25 years with the NOAA Fisheries Service as a scientist until he retired in 2017. His primary research interests were identifying the habitat requirements of estuarine-dependent fishery species, understanding how to successfully restore coastal habitats, and assessing the habitat function of coastal wetlands. He has over 60 scientific publications.

Lawrence holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia, a M.S. degree in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a B.S. degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  

Lawrence loves working with native plants, and over the past 19 years, he has been landscaping his own residence gardens located north of Lafayette. Since retirement, he continues to learn more about native gardening. He has produced 3 of the 4 ANPP landscape plans, contributed significantly to our Instead of that, Plant this document, and has led Moncus Park nature walks and Yard-to-Habitat workshops. Lawrence has served as Vice President, President, and Past President of ANPP; he is currently a member of its propagation and education and outreach teams and a lead for collaboration. He also is the current Vice President of the Louisiana Native Plant Society (LNPS). Lawrence served on the Board of Directors for the Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association (BVPA). Lawrence has represented ANPP at the Louisiana Wildlife Federation where he advocated for recognition of the importance of native plants in habitats. He advocated for the use of native plants adjacent to waterways as a board member of BVPA. He was 2nd in the state to apply for the Louisiana Certified Habitat and is happy to have anyone visit his property. Thanks for all of it, Lawrence!