The Property

(Last Updated 2023)

Birds                 (196) species

Trees                 (35) species

Vines                 (18)  species

Grass/Herb.       (140 species

Shrubs               (14) species

Mammals           (12) species

Frogs                  (10) species

Snakes                (11) species

Lizards                (5) species

Turtles                 (4) species

Fish/Crustacean  (14) species

Dragonflies & Damsel Flies (18) species

Trees planted thus far:

SPECIES		2012	2013	2014	2015	2016-2018
Pecan	Carya illinoinensis	450
Cypress	Taxoium ditichum	450	850	800	2000	1000
Hackberry	Celtis laevigata	450				200
Green Ash	Fraxinus pennsylvanica	100	40		200
Overcup Oak	Quercus lyrata				1000
Willow Oak	Quercus phellos	100	100			200
Cow Oak	Quercus michauxii	200	50
Nuttall Oak	Quercus nuttallii	200	50			200
Laurel Oak	Quercus laurifolia	200
Live Oak	Quercus virginiana	200		250		50
Shumard Oak	quercus shumardii		25
Water Oak	Quercus nigra		100
Bitter Pecan	Carya aquatica	100			1000
Drummond Maple	Acer rubrumk var D.	200	50		1000
Black Gum	Nyssa sylvatica	200
Water Tupelo	Nyssa aquatica		100
Southern Catalpa	Catalpa bignonioides		50
Crab Apple			50
American Beech	Fagus grandifolia		50
Red Mulberry	Morus rubra		50
Chinese Chestnut	Castanea mollissima		25
Eastern Red Cedar	Juniperus virginiana		50	100		200
American Sycamore	Platanus occidentalis		30
American Elm	Ulmus americana		20
Button Bush	Cephalanthus occidentalis		200			200
Black Locust	Robinia pseudoacacia			100
Persimmon	Diospyros virginiana			100
Mayhaw	Crataegus Aestivales				300
River Birch	Betula nigra				200
Honey Locust	Gleditsia triacanthos					200
Black Cherry	Prunus serotina					100
Redbud	Cercis canadensis					200
Sweet acacia	Vachellia farnesiana					20
Red Buckeye	Aesculus pavia					200
Annual Total		2850	1890	1350	5700	2350

Bordered on the west by Weeks Canal (Tidal with direct connection to Weeks Bay)

The property is divided into thirds, the upper twenty is the northern third which has been most recently cleared and contains the two new ponds. The middle third is flooded woods. And the bottom is flooded marsh and willow stands.

       In 2010 I purchased this piece of land (about 67 acres) just south of New Iberia, Louisiana that had been involved in a wetlands conflict by the previous landowner in the chase for increased sugarcane crop acreage. I purchased it fully knowing the property was under several wetland violations and under scrutiny by E.P.A, US Army Corps of Engineers, LA DNR Dept. of Coastal Management and a few others to boot. The original land was a beautiful mix of mature flooded cypress/ tupelo and hardwood bottom stands as well as about twenty acres of freshwater emergent marsh. Of the sixty-seven-acre tract most of it was cleared to the ground. This occurred around 2003.  There are still piles of debris scattered around the property containing enormous oak trees that were pushed over and piled up to burn (these can be seen easily from aerial imagery of the property). Later around 2007 the "upper twenty" acres or northernmost acreage was re-cleared (again everything pushed into piles) in an attempt to show that something was being done to "restore" the land.

       I purchased the land in January 2010 and had to leave immediately for a second tour of duty with the Louisiana National Guard in Iraq. Upon my return in December 2010, I began restoration of the property. I purchased a 1952 ford 8N tractor to clear once more the "upper twenty" which had become a solid and formidable Chinese Tallow stand and then began poisoning and cutting by hand invasives that were in areas too wet to get my machinery. (That will be a lifelong and continuous process I think).*(Update see helicopter application of Clearcast and its wonderful success).

        To date I have planted around 18,000 trees and numerous grass species (all natives) have dug two ponds one deep and one shallow for waterfowl and wading birds (on a non-wetlands portion of the property) and have cut a gap in the levee which borders the western property boundary to allow the Weeks Canal to have tidal influence across most of the property. I have worked my way across the property and am still working on small supplements and specialty plantings. In the fall of 2013, I implemented a native prairie restoration project on three acres of the "upper twenty" with the assistance of the US Fish and Wildlife agency. The entire property is now under an easement agreement with US Fish and Wildlife called the Partners for Wildlife Program.

 

       In the fall of 2011, I began cataloging the birds, mammals, plants (by stratum), fish, and reptiles and amphibians on the property. The list still grows with every trip.

 

      I have decided to create this blog as a journal to help record my progress and to also share some of the beauty that I often come across at the property while nature reclaims what is rightfully hers.





This is the larger of the two ponds and the shallower (2.5-3 foot)  that was dug May 2012
I am introducing a number of native submerged aquatic plants as well as dozens of herbaceous species around the perimeter.

 



Sunrise on the shallow pond.....can you see the ducks coming in...I can.





More sunrise on the pond.



This is a first fall picture after I bush hogged an area that was solid salt bush....see next picture.

Same area as above...looking back in opposite direction on year two after bushhogging it.

 



Same as above.........  (year three).

  

I wish I had a before photo to go with this one. These are the native trees left behind after I hand cut and poisoned all the tallow around them. I did about four acres like this as a test to see what methods worked best. Before this photo you would not have seen these natives at all as the tallow were very thick and taller than the natives.



Iris I transplanted from the banks of the western canal to the big pond, also a cypress sapling (lower left) and pickerel weed transplant from a nearby ditch.



In the middle of the property there are potholes and flooded woods with lots of palmetto. There are also some slight ridges that house hardwoods....potential for nice oak ridges but for now mostly tallow......I'm gonna help even the odds. Also a good bit of wood duck in here in the winter. See below for a springtime view of the same hole.





Same pothole in the "middle" of the property different time of year and vantage point. This year (2013) I planted hundreds of cypress around this one.





This is an area just south of the ponds that floods frequently and dries up quickly...there are a few hog wallow holes that hold water year round. It is a great birding spot and I hung a few feeders seen on the upper right that up my odds.



Same area as above just zoomed out a little.





The islands and peninsulas around the pond are the "piles" left from the original site clearing a decade ago.

Thanks to:  E.P.A. (Tammy Mick), US Army Corps of Engineers (Gary Couret), US Fish and Wildlife (Andy Dolan), LA DNR Office of Coastal Management (Charlie Mestayer), and NRCS (Charles Stemmans) for helping me along the way with permitting and implementation of the property restoration plan. And also to Bill Vermillion, Steve Shively, Garrie Landry, Brad Moon and especially Bill Fontenot for planting seeds, mentoring and teaching me about the beauty, intricacies, and subtleties of the natural world right outside our doorsteps.  Thank you all.