best thing for everyone in our state to do is to hire a good lawyer to make a claim in the new bp settlement and see if you, your property or your business qualifies, and, if not, stay involved as there are still a lot of positive things going on in the BP litigation in NOLA that will lead to BP and the other companies, transocean and halliburton, paying to make people and properties whole and helping with future restoration of our state. i am an avid outdoorsman as well and coastal property owner. most people do not realize how well the suit against these companies is proceeding in NOLA and the good that will come from it. most people also do not realize the magnitude of the recent settlement and how many people and businesses in louisiana, miss, alabama and florida qualify for recovery. if you own property or leased property for more than 60 days along the coast of louisiana, miss, alabama or florida and you are near the gulf or a body of water attached to the gulf you may recover, but you should hire a lawyer who knows what he/she is doing and make a claim. also, if you had boats that worked in the cleanup efforts for bp or one of bp's subs then you can get more money for your vessels regardless of whether they were put to work or not. clean up workers can also recover more money as well as coastal residents. also, every business and individual in louisiana (yes, even north louisiana), miss or alabama who meet certain loss revenue/income patterns or is in certain industries (seafood, tourism, restaurants, etc.) can recover. this settlement is very very broad and includes the entire state. broader than most people think. call a lawyer involved in the BP case and see if you qualify to make a claim. if you don't qualify now then keep up on the status of the suit in NOLA because you may qualify later for another form of settlement or other recovery. all of this will help our state and the people, businesses and properties that have been affected. if you want to help our state and economy to get a shot in the arm then talk to a BP lawyer in Louisiana and see if you can make a claim. if you have questions you can call 337-296-6799 or 337-233-1987.