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 Louisiana’s coastal wetland forests
are of tremendous ecological, cultural, economic and recreational value. In all,
there are more than 2 million acres of forested wetland throughout Louisiana,
but the forests are under threat by non-sustainable forest practices, highways,
railroads, channelization, navigation canals, oil and gas exploration canals,
flood control structures, and conversion of forests to urban and agricultural
land. Ultimately these activities are
threatening global warming and rising ocean levels. (The pic to the left shows the natural beauty of the Coastal Louisiana forests.)
The cypress forests are important
for holding together coastal wetlands, to protect communities from hurricanes (by
reducing the storm surge), preventing erosion and acting as a filter for
cleaning water. Louisiana can lay claim to about 40 % of coastal wetlands, yet
the rate at which these treasures are destroyed is much higher in number. For
the past several decades, Louisiana has lost as much as 40 square miles of
marsh each year which is 80 % of the nation's annual coastal wetland loss. There
is a new and disturbing threat to these forests- cypress mulch. The popularity
of cypress mulch is endangering our coastal forests and the protection they
provide to our region. Instead of being a byproduct of the lumber industry,
entire chain of cypress forest is being logged to produce cypress mulch. Recent
scientific reports express concern that a majority of Louisiana's Cypress
Forest will not grow back unless some strong concrete actions are taken to
prevent logging.
 This unique forested ecosystem is
derived in part from their unusual deltaic landscape as a product of the
Mississippi River. The ecosystem exists in a balance between dry land and fresh
saltwater. The forests provide habitat for threatened species (e.g., Louisiana
black bear, bald eagle) and economically important species (e.g., crawfish and
waterfowl). In addition, millions of birds, including a maximum number of the
eastern neo-tropical migrant bird species in the United States and numerous
species from the western United States, migrate through the coastal forests of
Louisiana during spring and fall. (The pic to the right is of one of the rare species of frog caught on camera by Jeffrey Pipper.)
For
more information on the cypress mulch issue click here
For
more information on this ecosystem click here
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