Charles Joseph Melançon (/məˈlɑːnsɒn/; born October 3, 1947) is an American politician and former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

[1] The grandson and great-grandson of sugar cane farmers, Melançon has spent most of his life in Napoleonville, 50 miles south of Baton Rouge.

[citation needed] Just a few months after Melancon took office, Hurricane Katrina slammed into south Louisiana, causing massive levee failures and devastating flooding in the eastern part of his district.

He has brought Congressional delegations to the Gulf Coast to see firsthand the destruction from the storms as well as the ongoing need for hurricane protection and coastal restoration.

Since the storms, Melancon has sponsored a number of reform bills to try to fix the flaws in the government's disaster response and relief system.

Melançon said in a release that he opposed the bill because he believed it would hurt his "district and the people I represent … The oil and gas industry is the engine driving south Louisiana's economy, providing good-paying jobs to hundreds of thousands of our workers for generations.

"[7] Melancon was successful in including an amendment in the bill that would protect Louisiana's share of wetlands restoration funding from cuts indirectly caused by hurricane disaster assistance.

Melançon explained in a statement that he voted against the bill for reasons including its potential effects on small businesses, the possibility of taxpayer-funded abortions, and increases in taxes.

[12] In explaining his vote for the legislation, Melançon said, "The people of south Louisiana sent me to Congress because I promised to listen to them and do what I thought was right, not what was most popular or what my party told me to do.

This plan, while far from perfect, will create or save an estimated 50,000 jobs in Louisiana, invest over $538 million in infrastructure projects for our state, and lay a foundation for long-term growth for our country through innovation and education.

I am interested in bringing both sides together to work out their differences and develop a bipartisan solution that will address some of these concerns, while still protecting employees’ rights.

"[2][21] Edwards announced that state Representative Jack Montoucet of Scott in Lafayette Parish would take office in January 2017 to succeed Melancon as the wildlife and fisheries secretary.