Old River Lock (Lettsworth)
Louisiana's Old River is a distinctive river with a remarkable history. Fifty miles northwest of Baton Rouge, it connects the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. It was once a part of the Mississippi and would have long ceased to exist had it not been for man. At one time, the Mississippi attempted to divert most of its flow through Old River and down the Atchafalaya.
Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge (Ferriday)
The Nature Conservancy purchased an 11, 255.51-acre core tract from the Fisher Lumber Company, a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation. The Conservancy then sold the land to the USFWS over a span of 5 years. Cocodrie Bayou is designated as a state scenic river. The bottomland hardwoods at Bayou Cocodrie NWR have been noted as some of the last remaining, least disturbed timber in the Mississippi River Delta.
J. Bennett Johnston Waterway (Monroe)
The J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, formerly known as the Red River Waterway, LA, contains five locks and dams on the Red River: LD 1 L.C. - Boggs Lock and Dam; LD 2 - J.H. Overton Lock and Dam; LD 3 - Lock and Dam No. 3; LD 4 - Russell B. Long Lock and Dam; and, LD 5 - Joe D. Waggonner Jr. Lock and Dam.The project is operated by the Corps of Engineers and the Red River Waterway Commission. There are fishing, boating, picnicking, and bird watching opportunities at the recreation areas.
Bayou Bodcau Reservoir (Monroe)
There is no permanent pool at this flood control dam. However, Bossier Parish maintains Ivan Lake on 520 acres of reservoir lands. A major waterfowl and upland game management and hunting area is open to the public. There is an accessible (wheelchairs) hiking trail available and an environmental education center.
Ouachita-Black Rivers (4 L&Ds, Jonesville Pool (Monroe)
Project has 9 public access points to Ouachita-Black Rivers with picnicking, fishing and boating. Pool extends from Riverton, LA south to Jonesville Lock & Dam located on LA 124 12 mi S of Jonesville, LA.
Caddo Lake (Monroe)
Caddo Lake, LA has facilities for bank fishing at the dam, which is operated by the Corps.
Pearl River (3 Locks And Dams) (SUN)
Pearl River, LA is a series of three locks and dams. The area is primarily for day use with boating, hunting and fishing being popular.
Wallace Lake (Monroe)
Ouachita-Black Rivers (4 L&Ds, Thatcher Pool) (Monroe)
Ouachita-Black Rivers System in AR and LA has four locks and dams. There are boat ramps and picnicking facilities on the river. The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is located along the river near the AR and LA border.
Ouachita-Black Rivers (4 L&Ds, Felsenthal Pool (Monroe)
Project has 3 public access points to Ouachita River and Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge with boating, fishing, camping, and day use. Pool extends from H.K. Thatcher Lock & Dam south to the Felsenthal Lock & Dam located 5 mi NE of Huttig, AR on county road.
Kisatchie National Forest (Pineville)
Located in the piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern Louisiana parishes, the Kisatchie National Forest is the only national forest in the Pelican State. Kisatchie National Forest provides opportunity for many kinds of recreation activities including: camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, off-highway vehicle use, nature study, sightseeing, and road & mountain bicycle riding.
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (Tallulah)
The Tensas River NWR, located in northeast Louisiana, is one of the largest continuous blocks of bottomland hardwoods remaining in the nation. Programs on the refuge include cooperative farming, black bear research, neotropical migrant bird research, environmental education, and consumptive and non-consumptive public use programs.
Cane River National Heritage Area (Natchitoches)
Cane River National Heritage Area in northwestern Louisiana is a largely rural, agricultural landscape known for its historic plantations, its distinctive Creole architecture, and its multi-cultural legacy. Historically this region lay at the intersection of French and Spanish realms in the New World. Today it is home to a unique blend of cultures, including French, Spanish, African, American Indian, and Creole.
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (New Orleans)
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park was established to celebrate the origins and evolution of America's most widely recognized indigenous musical art form. A story rich with innovation, experimentation, controversy and emotion, the park provides an ideal setting to share the cultural history of the people and places that helped shape the development and progression of jazz in New Orleans.
Ouachita-Black Rivers (4 L&Ds, Columbia Pool) (Monroe)
Ouachita-Black Rivers System in AR and LA has four locks and dams. There are boat ramps and picnicking facilities on the river. The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is located along the river near the AR and LA border.
Atchafalaya Basin Floodway System (Port Barre)
The project encompasses 595, 000 acres of the largest contiguous tract of bottomland hardwoods in the United States. The Atchafalaya Basin is a scenic semi-wilderness area of hardwood forests, cypress stands, marshes and bayous. It is one of the last great river swamps left in the nation. The Atchafalaya River and hundreds of miles of bayous bring life to this wilderness area.
Bonnet Carre Spillway (Norco)
Over the years, the Bonnet Carre Spillway has developed into an extensively used outdoor recreation area with approximately 250, 000 visitors enjoying the spillway each year. The public is allowed acccess provided their activities do not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the project. These lands and waters provide opportunities for fishing, crawfishing, hunting, dog training, camping, and wildlife watching.
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge (Krotz Springs)
Atchafalaya NWR, about 30 miles west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and one mile east of Krotz Springs, Louisiana lies just east of the Atchafalaya River.
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge (Lacombe)
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife was authorized in 1986 and officially established in 1990. The refuge is located within the city limits of New Orleans and encompasses approximately 23, 000 acres. It is the largest urban National Wildlife refuge in the United States. The refuge is one of the last remaining marsh areas adjacent to Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne.
Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (Lacombe)
Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established in October 1994, and is comprised of 15, 000 acres of coastal marsh and pine forested wetlands. Of this total, the Conservation Fund has donated over 10, 000 acres to the Service from Richard King Mellon Foundation funds.
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge (Farmerville)
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 through a unique partnership with the city of Monroe, Louisiana. The 2, 000 acre scenic lake is owned by the city and serves as its secondary water source. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a free ninety-nine year management lease on the lake. The Service purchased 2, 200 acres of land surrounding the lake, which expanded the refuge to 4, 200 acres and protected most of the lake*s watershed.
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (Lacombe)
On June 30, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 96-288 authorizing the 40, 000-acre Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Washington and St. Tammany Parishes, LA, and Pearl River County, MS. Since that time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been acquiring bottomland hardwood habitat in the Pearl River Basin. On December 13, 1989, Congress authorized a boundary expansion for Bogue Chitto NWR that included an additional 8, 400 acres of bottomland hardwoods in St.
Breton National Wildlife Refuge (Venice)
The Breton National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1904 and is the second oldest refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The refuge is comprised of a series of barrier islands including Breton Island and all of the Chandeleur Islands in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. It was formed from the remnants of the Mississippi River's former St.Bernard Delta, which was active 2000 years ago. The barrier islands size and shapes constantly are altered by tropical storms, wind, and tidal action.
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (Bell City)
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to preserve and protect wintering waterfowl and their habitat. It was the first refuge established under the auspices of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The refuge is located approximately 25 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, in north central Cameron Parish. It contains 9, 621 acres that include fresh marsh, coastal prairie, and old rice fields (currently moist soil units).
Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge (Jonesville)
Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, located in east central Louisiana, 12 miles east of Jena, was established in 1958 as a wintering area for migratory waterfowl. The refuge contains 25, 162 acres divided into two units. The 6, 671 acre Headquarters Unit borders nine miles of the northeast shore of Catahoula Lake, a 26, 000 acre natural wetland renowned for its large concentrations of migratory waterfowl.
D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge (Farmerville)
D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, located north of West Monroe, Louisiana, lies on the western edge of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It was established in 1975 to protect bottomland hardwoods and provide wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl. Additionally the refuge provides habitat for alligators, bald eagles, the little known Rafinesque's big-eared bat and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
Delta National Wildlife Refuge (Venice)
The Delta National Wildlife Refuge is located 10 miles South of Venice, Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The area formed when a breach in the natural levee of the Mississippi River occurred in 1862 approximately 100 miles below New Orleans, Louisiana. The 48, 000 acre refuge was purchased in 1935 with the primary purpose to provide sanctuary and habitat to wintering waterfowl.
Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge (Marksville)
Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1989 to provide valuable waterfowl habitat in the Mississippi/Red River floodplain as part of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The 6, 000 acre refuge is located in Avoyelles Parish outside of Marksville, Louisiana.
Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge (Farmerville)
Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge is located just north of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, north central Louisiana. The refuge was established in 1988 with the southeast*s first fee title transfer of a Farmer*s Home Administration tract (466 acres) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A free lease of 38 acres from International Paper Company increased the refuge to the current 501 acres.
Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (Lake Arthur)
Lacassine NWR, in Cameron and Evangeline Parishes in southwestern Louisiana, was established on 12/30/37 by Executive Order No. 7780 as "a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife." The refuge is nearly 35, 000 acres in size, including 653 acres leased from the Cameron Parish School Board. The vegetation types occurring on the refuge are primarily water tolerant grasses, sedges, and shrubs. Vegetation in the undeveloped marshes is dominated by bulltongue and maidencane.
Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge (Marksville)
Lake Ophelia NWR (named for the largest water body in the area) was established in 1988 to protect the important Mississippi/Red River floodplain ecosystem. The refuge was once part of a vast bottomland hardwood wilderness. Levees have changed hydrology, but the underlying ridge/Saale topography supports a variety of habitat types.
Louisiana Wetland Management District (Farmerville)
The Louisiana Wetland Management District (WMD) was established in September 1990 in response to growing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responsibilities on lands that were off traditional refuges. These include Farmer*s Home Administration (FmHA) and fee title tracts, leases and work on private lands. The WMD encompasses 20 parishes in the northern half of the state. Most of the 37 FmHA easements, 10 fee title tracts, and 4 leases are concentrated in northeastern Louisiana.
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge (Houma)
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1996, is located in Terrebonne Parish in southeast Louisiana. The 4, 212 acre refuge is composed of freshwater marsh and cypress-tupelo swamp. The refuge provides excellent habitat for waterfowl, wading birds, and neotropical songbirds. Access is by boat only and foot travel is extremely difficult due to the soft marsh environment. The refuge is open year round to the public from sunrise to sunset, with seasonal restrictions in some areas.
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge (Hackberry)
Sabine NWR, about 8 miles south of Hackberry, on State Highway 27, was established in 1937 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds. The refuge consists of a basin of wetlands located between the Gulf's beach cheniers (oak ridges)and the coastal prairie, which is one of the most productive and fertile areas of North America.
Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge (Lacombe)
Established in 1907, Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is also a testimony to the fast eroding shoreline of Louisiana. Its boundary was and still is rather loosely described as "... a small group of unsurveyed islets located in the Gulf of Mexico about three and one half miles south of Marsh Island, LA, and approximately at latitude 29 degrees 26 minutes north, longitude 91 degrees 51 minutes west from Greenwich...
Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge (Farmerville)
The refuge provides excellent wintering habitat for tens of thousands of ducks and geese. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and the threatened Louisiana black bear are found on Upper Ouachita NWR. Other wildlife species that call the refuge home include alligators, deer, turkey, squirrels, bald eagles and beaver. Upper Ouachita NWR is one of the four refuges managed in the North Louisiana Refuges Complex.
Creole Nature Trail (Lake Charles)
Highlights of this route include four National Wildlife Refuges, salt and freshwater resources, Civil War and archaeological dig sites, and miles of natural beaches, marshlands, and prairie lands, yielding an abundance of wildlife and scenic appeal.
Poverty Point National Monument (Epps)
Located in northeastern Louisiana, this park commemorates a culture that thrived during the first and second millennia B.C. This site, which contains some of the largest prehistoric earth works in North America, is managed by the state of Louisiana. These State Park facilities are open to the public. PLEASE NOTE: NO FEDERAL FACILITIES.
Cane River Creole National Historical Park (Natchitoches)
Cane River Creole National Historical Park is located within the Cane River National Heritage Area in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. The park includes 42 acres of Oakland Plantation and 18 acres of Magnolia Plantation. The two park sites include a total of 67 historic structures remnant from 200 years of plantation life. Due to the preservation and restoration work in progress on these buildings and the grounds, there are limited services available to the public.
Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge (St. Francisville)
Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge was established on October 27, 2000 as the 526th refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located near the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana, which is 30 miles north of Baton Rouge. The refuge was established to conserve, restore, and manage native forested wetland habitats for migratory birds, aquatic resources, and endangered and threatened plants and animals.
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge (Franklin)
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge, established in 2001, is located in St. Mary Parish in southeast Louisiana. The 9, 028 acre refuge is composed of wet bottomland hardwood laced with bayous and canals. The primary mission of the refuge is to preserve and manage habitat for the threatened Louisiana black bear. Other objectives are to provide habitat for other fish and wildlife species, environmental education, and opportunities for public recreation.