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Wetland Education Outreach March 13, 2010
North Louisiana meeting South Louisiana
Through a Wetland Conservation Project
Lincoln Parish 4-H’ers are joining together with the America’s Wetland Conservation Corps (AWCC), Youth Wetlands Week (YWW), LSU Ag Center and Harry Hurst Middle School Wetland Watcher at a tree planting, trash bash and educational programs at the LaBanche Wetland Watchers Park at the Bonnet Carre Spillway on March 13.
Lincoln Parish 4-H’ers will have the opportunity to plant bald cypress trees, pick up trash along the shoreline and learn multiple education lessons of the surrounding area of the LaBranche Wetlands. AWCC members and Harry Hurst Middle School students will be around helping the 4-H’ers and teaching them the lessons of the wetlands.
The South West Pontchartrain Area (SWPA) encompasses the swamps, forests and marshes of the Bonnet Carré Spillway and LaBranche. This area is composed of 31,678 acres. The Bonnet Carré Spillway, a relief channel for excess floodwater from the Mississippi River, was constructed in 1930, following the devastating flood of 1927.
The LaBranche Wetlands area to the east of the Spillway has suffered severe loss of marsh and swamp habitat during the 20th century. Since the early 1900s, the forested acreage in this area has steadily declined because of development and conversion to marsh and open water.
Historically, this area frequently received overflow from the Mississippi River, which introduced sediment and fresh water to the wetlands. Today, the wetlands are generally isolated from the river unless the spillway is opened or if significant leakage takes place. This area has been significantly affected by industrial development, including oil and gas extraction, transport and refining.
When -- March 13
Time -- 11:00 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where -- Norco, Wetland Watcher’s Park
From I-10: get off at the Boute exit and continue to the Destrahan exit. Get on Airline and head west. About 5 stop lights down you will see a Wetland Watchers park sign. Take a right. Go down the levee all the way to the lake.
Extra: Lunch will be provided.
*** Come dressed to get dirty, muddy, maybe even soaked! BOOTS ARE A GREAT IDEA, RAIN BOOTS WORK. . . IF NOT BOOTS, THEN CLOSED-TOED SHOES THAT CAN GET DIRTY! **** BRING A CHANGE OF CLOTHES FOR THE WAY BACK!!!!
For more information about the event or directions, please contact: Marguerite Frentz
Office# 318-251-5134, Cell# 504-338-9245, Email