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.

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