Building Resilient Habitats Map

Louisiana: Coastal Cypress Forests

Spanning a distance 595,000 acres, the Atchafalaya Basin is the largest swamp in the United States and contains nationally significant expanses of bottomland hardwoods, swamplands, bayous and back-water lakes.

Sea level rise-a consequence of global warming-threatens these delicate ecosystems. The basin is home to endangered species like the Louisiana Black Bear and recently de-listed American Bald Eagle. Additionally, the basin contains 206 species of birds and was recently identified as a "Globally Important Bird Area" by the American Bird Conservancy and an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Council.

The basin is an economic engine: hunting, fishing and swamp tours operate all year round. The intercoastal waterway makes the basin a hub for interstate commerce. Most of the Louisiana Crawfish harvest stems from the basin and it is a very productive oil and gas field. However, the basin has also been heavily damaged from oil and gas canals cut haphazardly within the swamp. We remain uncertain how many miles of old pipe line remain in the basin.

There have been efforts to perform water quality projects to improve fresh water sheet flow as the salinity of the basin climbs. But the destruction of the coastal wetlands is allowing increasing salt water intrusion. These intrusions change the types of animals, fish, trees and other vegetation that can in Atchafalaya Basin.

The most valuable component of the Atachafalaya is the Bald Cypress tree. Despite heavy logging a hundred years ago, the native Cypress remains a vital part of the Atachafalaya ecosystem. It is a preferred nesting area for many bird species and the hollow old ones are home to the Louisiana Black bear. However, the current salinity prevents the trees from returning after they are logged, thereby allowing the swamps to be taken over by willow and tallow trees. Cypress trees help to break storm surges during hurricanes and keep the wetlands stabilized to reduce further losses. Unfortunately, there is large market for supposedly "environmentally harvested" Cypress Mulch, which is used by gardeners around the country.

The Delta Chapter has been very concerned about the logging of Cypress in all of our Coastal Forests. The chapter's concern stems from the private ownership of the majority of the basin. Delta Chapter is working to get the state legislature to provide incentives or easements to keep people from logging their privately owned cypress. Delta Chapter has also tried to reduce the demand for cypress by changing the public image of Cypress Mulch, the main logging product. Radio ads, newspaper ads and consumer-directed brochures emphasize that whole trees are being ground up to produce the mulch.

The chapter's current goal is to achieve a National Wild and Scenic River designation for the Atchafalaya River and the waterways within the basin. Individuals must fight locally to preserve the cypress from being harvested, but must also focus on larger global climate issues. As sea levels rise, we will continue to lose more of our coastal wetlands: the Delta Chapter pursues full scale protection of Atchafalaya Basin and its cypress trees in order to combat the harmful effects of changing sea levels. In partnership with the Save Our Cypress Coalition, Delta Chapter has made headway with Walmart , Home Depot and Lowes. The chapter continues to work for a certification that addresses the source of the mulch and constantly reminds retailers of their sustainability promises.

For more information about the Sierra Club chapter in Louisiana and its involvement with the Atchafalaya Basin, please visit http://louisiana.sierraclub.org/