The field trips are always a high point of any SWS meeting and this was no exception. About 330 folks were dispersed among 10 full day trips and 6 half-day trips. Our most popular trip turned out to be the canoe trips in Honey Island Swamp. Despite some heavy rain when trips were departing everyone had a good time, After all why worry about being wet when you're a wetland scientist. The only casualty was one of the boat trips which cancelled for safety reasons at the last minute. (Rain is OK, but lightning is more of a problem)

HALF DAY FIELD TRIPS

HONEY ISLAND SWAMP
JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
LA BRANCHE WETLANDS - Wetland Restoration Through the Use of Dredged Material
FLOAT PLANE TOURS OF LOUISIANA COASTAL WETLANDS - CLOSED

FULL DAY FIELD TRIPS

SWAMPS & BAYOUS BY CANOE
EVENING CANOE TRIP TO MANCHAC ISLAND
GULF COAST PITCHER PLANT BOGS - CLOSED
MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA  - Splay Development at Delta NWR- CLOSED
BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD MANAGEMENT - Bogue Chitto NWR - CANCELLED
FLOATING PEAT MARSHES OF JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL PARK
DAVIS POND FRESHWATER DIVERSION PROJECT & OUTFALL AREA - CANCELLED
LAKE RAMSAY SAVANNAH - A Grand Remnant of the Longleaf Pine Flatwoods- CANCELLED
TERREBONNE BAY ABOARD LUMCON'S RESEARCH VESSEL ACADIANA - CANCELLED
CANOE TRIP TO WHITE KITCHEN NATURE CONSERVANCY PRESERVE - CLOSED
MANCHAC SWAMP AND TURTLE COVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH STATION - CLOSED
LOUISIANA CHENIER PLAIN
SALT MARSH DIEBACK PROJECT
SEAPLANE TRIP TO THE CHANDELEUR ISLANDS CANCELLED
PINE FLATWOOD WETLANDS -Use of the Hydrogeomorphic Approach

 

 

Half Day Field Trips
 

FT01, FT02-  HONEY ISLAND SWAMP

Venture into the interior of one of the wildest pristine swamps in America, part of which became the Nature Conservancy's first Louisiana Nature Preserve.  The nearly 30000 ha permanently protected Honey Island Swamp wetland located in the lower floodplain of the Pearl River, is likely the least disturbed riverine wetland along the Gulf Coast.  By specially built open tour boats, participants will get to experience the deeper, hard-to-reach small bayous and sloughs within the interior of the swamp.  This is a great field trip for nature photography and wildlife observation.  You'll see some of the most spectacular cypress and gum stands and it's almost guaranteed you'll come across alligators and plenty of wading birds. 

Note: Wear comfortable clothes for the 2 hr boat tour.  You will not get wet on this trip unless you fall overboard or it's pouring rain!  Although lunch is not provided, cajun cuisine and other food is available at the launch site.

FT01 departs hotel at 7:00 a.m.; return 12:00 noon Cost: $50
FT02 departs at 12:00 p.m.; return 5:00 p.m.. Cost:$50
Leader:  Dr. Paul Wagner, Honey Island Swamp Tours.

 

FT03 -  JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This half day easy walking trip is to the main unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park located about 30 minutes from New Orleans.  The park is famous for its well-planned, easily accessed boardwalks into the swamps and freshwater marshes within the upper Barataria drainage basin.  June is the perfect time to visit the park because of  all the critters you should hear or see.  Alligators, frogs, turtles and wading birds abound in the waterways along the walks.  The tour begins on the high natural levee by the ancient Bayou des Familles, which support some 100+ year old bottomland hardwood forests, and then traverses away from the bayou down slope through cypress, red-maple and water tupelo dominated swamps finally reaching the edge of the extensive floating marshes.  Learn about the conservation issues that the park is facing, including abating salt intrusion, hydrological restoration, and eradication of invasive species. 

Note: Bring comfortable clothes, walking shoes, and repellent.  Tour includes lunch.

FT03 departs at 8:00 a.m.; to return at 1:00 p.m. 
Cost: $35
Leader: Staff, National Park Service.

 

FT04 - LA BRANCHE WETLANDS - Wetland Restoration Through the Use of Dredged Material

Louisiana is experiencing huge wetland loss rates, up to 30 square miles each year.  Some of the State's wetlands are deteriorating, but not fully degraded, yet. Efforts to restore these wetlands in Louisiana have included the use of dredged materials.  Take an airboat tour of a site adjacent to a scenic bayou and cypress swamp in the La Branche wetlands (about 30 minute drive from New Orleans) that seven years ago was a shallow open water pond.  By beneficially using dredged material from nearby Lake Pontchartrain, this area is on its way to becoming a productive emergent wetland. Come and view the restoration effort and learn how monitoring information is used to understand vegetative community structure.  In addition to visiting the dredged material site, participants will see the Bonne Carre spillway, a shoreline protection project along the lake rim, and Christmas tree sediment-trapping fences in the La Branche wetlands.  Along the airboat route, we will pass a few duck hunting camps and a concentration of duck hunting blinds in and near the dredge material site.  A little local culture will be thrown in and we'll discuss the effect that this user group had on design of the project. 

Note: Be prepared for moderate hiking through wet habitats.  Rubber boots or old shoes recommended, as well as sunscreen and insect repellant.  Lunch is not provided.

FT04 departs hotel at 8:00 a.m.; returns by 1:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leaders: Bill Boshart & John Troutman, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

 

FT05, FT06 - FLOAT PLANE TOURS OF LOUISIANA COASTAL WETLANDS

Both trips are closed

These spectacular trips by plane are worth every penny and are a photographers dream!  A float plane will carry 5 visitors and a narrator over swamps, fresh marshes, brackish marshes, and saline marshes.  All participants will sit next to a window.  Sufficient time is allowed for low-level loitering to accommodate photographers on both sides of the plane.  The leader will provide maps and notes describing points of interest. A 1-hour flight and a 1.75-hour flight are being offered.  Points of interest include the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion structure, which is being used to restore riverine inflow to the estuary; marshes downstream of Caernarvon that are benefiting from the riverine inflow; saline marshes adjacent to but isolated from the Mississippi River; Fort Jackson (scene of Civil War battles); Head of Passes, below which some of the river is unmanaged for flood control and navigation; the fresh and intermediate marshes at the mouth of the river; degrading barrier islands west of the river; saline marshes where subsurface faults are expressed on the surface (in the form of linear interfaces between persistent and degraded marshes); degrading saline and brackish marshes; marshes benefiting from the Myrtle Grove Siphon, another technique used to restore riverine inflow to the estuary; and beautiful fresh marshes, swamps, and bottomland hardwood forests. 

Note: Five participants are required for each flight (trip) and trips are weather dependent. SWS has the right to cancel in the event of inclement weather. A full refund will be provided if the trip is cancelled due to wetaher. Lunch is not provided. 

FT05 of 1.75 hrs flying time includes a flyover of the Mississippi River delta.  Hotel departure at 7:00 a.m.; returns by 11:00 a.m.  Cost: $300

FT06 of 1.00 hrs flying time, but does not include flight over the Mississippi delta.  It departs hotel at 9:00 a.m.; returns by 1:00 p.m.  Cost: $200
Leader: Dr. Andy Nyman, Louisiana State University.

 

FT07 - SWAMPS & BAYOUS BY CANOE

See the swamplands and marshlands of southeastern Louisiana by canoe!  Exact destinations will be determined just before the trip depending upon local plant and water conditions.  Three possible destinations for trip # 7 are within 1 hr of New Orleans within the Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas drainages.   One site is Shell Bank Bayou in the Manchac swamp, the subject of a locally popular coffee-table picture book.  Another site is Bayou LaBranche, which features waterways bordered by magnificent cypress trees.  The final possible site is Cane Bayou, which meanders to the shore of Lake Pontchartrain beginning in a bottomland hardwood forest ecotone through extensive fresh and saline marshes. 
Encountering alligators only meters away is likely on any of these trip! 

Note: No canoeing experience is necessary.  Wear old clothes and footwear that can get wet.  Bring rain gear if threatening. Trip includes lunch.

FT07 departs hotel at 8:00 a.m.; returns at 3:00 p.m. Cost: $50 
Leader:  Byron Almquist, Canoe & Trail Adventures.
 

FT08 - EVENING CANOE TRIP to MANCHAC SWAMP

Experience the sights and sounds of the wetlands near and after dark on this fabulous evening canoe trip!  This trip is truly a magnificent experience, and well worth missing a little sleep over.

Note: No canoeing experience is necessary.  Wear old clothes and footwear that can get wet.  Bring rain gear if threatening.  

FT08 departs hotel at 5:00 p.m.; returns at 11:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leader:  Byron Almquist, Canoe & Trail Adventures.

 

FT09 - GULF COAST PITCHER PLANT BOGS
CLOSED

Enjoy one of the Gulf Coastal Plain’s most fascinating natural environments—the fire maintained pitcher plant bogs of southern Mississippi. Acres of carnivorous Sarracenia’s, Drosera; Pinquicula, and Utricularia will lure you with stunning blue and yellow flowers.  See and photograph the fantastic trapping mechanisms that these plants use to prey upon our abundant arthropod populations.  Located approximately one-hour’s driving time from New Orleans, we will visit two   of the Crosby Arboretum’s most spectacular sites in their natural area collection -
Hillside Bog
and Steep
Hollow Bog.
The Hillside
Bog 70-acre area protects a large fire-maintained hillside bog, along with longleaf pine, sweetbay-tupelo-swampbay woodlands, pine-oak, and other regional plant communities.  Over 241 plant species have been identified.  Steep Hollow Bog is fed by hardwood-shaded natural springs.  Herbaceous and woody species grow on the saturated surface on a meter or more of peat that has accumulated forming a quaking bog.  In addition to the carnivorous species, other herbaceous flora include: a wealth of orchids such as Eulophia ecristata, Calopogon pallidus, C. tuberosus, Platanthera ciliaris, P. nivea; numerous Hypericum species; Lilium catesbaei, and the parasitic Macranthera flammea.   Over 30 species/m2 have been recorded in this bog.  We will also travel to the nearby ‘cultivated’ bog of Coleman Tarnok.  Mr. Tarnok has been crossing and propagating a wide variety of southeastern pitcher plant species for over 30 years.  As a result of his breeding work, he has continued to expand his cultivated bog habitat to nearly 100 acres.  A number of hybrids have resulted and are now featured at the Atlanta Botanic Garden and in the commercial nursery trade.  Mr. Tarnok’s bog has been featured in the October 2001 issue of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine. 

Note: Walking is fairly easy for this trip but be prepared to tread through mushy soils and some standing water; recommend long pants, insect repellant and wading boots.  Tour includes lunch.

FT09 departs hotel at 8:00 a.m.; to return 6:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leaders: Dr. Christopher Wells, U.S. Geological Survey; Bob Brzuszek, Senior Curator of The Crosby Arboretum, Mississippi State University, and Dr. Sue Grace, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.

FT10  -  MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA 
Splay Development at Delta NWR

CLOSED

See one of the spectacular wetland wonders of the world.  The Mississippi River Delta, nearly 3 hrs travel time from New Orleans, is a place no wetland scientist should miss seeing.  Participants will take part in a 4 - 5 hour boat tour of the Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Plant and animal wildlife are abundant in the mix of considerable human oil and gas activity, as well as commercial and private fishing and hunting.  Visits will be made to several developing mini-deltas (splays) in the interior of the large Mississippi River delta to see areas where land is actually building.  Participants will visit both natural and constructed splays for discussions about the processes involved in creating a crevasse, and development of a splay.  Talks will also touch on the value of these habitats to various wildlife species/groups. 

Note: Participants must be prepared for a day in the field under the sun.  Hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc. are recommended. 

FT10 departs hotel at 7:00 a.m.; return by 6:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leader: James Harris, Wildlife Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service.
 

FT11 - BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD MANAGEMENT
Bogue Chitto NWR

CANCELLED

FT12  -  FLOATING PEAT MARSHES OF JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL PARK

The Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve is an 8,400 acre subtropical peat marsh and swamp complex, located just 15 miles south of New Orleans.  The preserve is situated in the low-salinity reaches of the upper Barataria Basin on the western flank of the Mississippi River Delta Plain.  These floating peat marshes have an atypical hydrology with unique subsurface water exchange and flooding characteristics. The substrate consists almost entirely of root-derived organic matter, and in many instances is fully buoyant, moving vertically in response to water level fluctuations. Scrub-shrub thickets colonize and persist on some of these floating marsh habitats. Cypress swamp borders the emergent marshes along the low flanks of relict distributary ridges of the Mississippi River.  Bottomland hardwoods dominate the infrequently flooded ridge-tops and spoil banks. Visible signs of declining forest health are evident and chronicle the encroachment of the conversion to marsh due to regional subsidence and relative sea level rise. The tour will include a boat ride through the park, a short walk across a floating marsh into a wax-myrtle thicket with a Sphagnum carpet and a longer boardwalk trail across the transition from marsh to bottomland hardwood forest. We may see alligators and poisonous snakes, so come with cameras!  We will see plenty of mosquitoes. 

Note: Bring calf boots, raingear, mosquito repellant.  Tour includes lunch.

FT12 departs hotel at 8:00 a.m.; returns by 5:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leaders:Tom Doyle, National Wetlands Research Center, United States Geological Survey & Chris Swarzenski, United States Geological Survey.

FT13 - DAVIS POND FRESHWATER DIVERSION PROJECT & OUTFALL AREA

CANCELLED
 

FT14 - LAKE RAMSAY SAVANNAH
A Grand Remnant of the Longleaf Pine Flatwoods

CANCELLED

FT15 - TERREBONNE BAY ABOARD LUMCON'S
RESEARCH VESSEL ACADIANA

CANCELLED

FT16 - CANOE TRIP TO WHITE KITCHEN
NATURE CONSERVANCY PRESERVE

CLOSED

Are you ready for a real swamp tour?  This environmentally conscious tour by French/Canadian fur-trading vessels into the magnificent White Kitchen nature preserve may be just the venue for an evening in the real swamp country of Louisiana.  The group canoeing experience is dead quiet except for the swish of paddles, so no noise pollution of the larger motorboats is a welcome part of this unforgettable event.  This evening trip will expose visitors to the mysterious sights and sounds of the swamp near dark with a return to a picturesque cabin for a great early nighttime Cajun meal.   Learn about the unique flora, fauna, culture, and history of Honey Island Swamp.  The canoe trip itself is about 2 hrs in length with another couple of hours of story telling and dining. 

Note: Bring hats, repellant, camera and binoculars.  Tour includes dinner.

FT16 departs hotel at 3:00 p.m.; returns about 10:00 p.m. 
Cost: $50
Trip leader: Denny Holmberg, Voyageur Swamp Tour.
 

FT17 - MANCHAC SWAMP AND TURTLE COVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH STATION
CLOSED

The 100,000 ha Manchac Swamp is part of the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary, one of the largest oligohaline coastal ecosystems in the USA. The region is a mixture of cypress swamp, tupelo swamp, and freshwater marshes.  Some marshes are natural, and others are anthropogenic, a consequence of clear-cutting of cypress swamps early in the 1900’s.  Although the wetlands are primarily in fresh water, storm surges and droughts create periods of elevated salinity.   The tour will center on the Southeastern Louisiana University field station – the Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station – a 2-1/2 story building that was once the weekend home of one of the businessmen who clear-cut the region.  Mr. Schlieder’s 'camp' is now the station that is used extensively for teaching and research. The centerpiece of the scientific research at Turtle Cove is the 'Turtle Cove Experimental Marsh' built with part of the funds from a million dollar appropriation through the Environmental Protection Agency. Access is by a 1,100-foot boardwalk supplemented by 2,200-feet of catwalk.  Three 120 x 180 foot exclosures paired with three controls manipulate levels of herbivory by mammals (principally nutria and rabbits).  Within each of these are subplots where an additional 12 factors including fire, sedimentation, and fertility are being manipulated on 3 x 3 m plots.  Other plots are receiving additional plant species to test for dispersal limitation in controlling species composition.  Turtle Cove is reached only by boat.  The field station’s long-term caretaker, Mr. Hayden Reno will meet the group by pontoon boat.  He has a great familiarity with the fauna, flora and history of the region.  He is also renowned for his cooking and will prepare a lunch of local food -- perhaps fresh catfish, perhaps alligator sauce piquante.  Most days we can count on seeing brown pelicans, alligators, ibis, egrets and bald eagles from the boat before we even arrive at Turtle Cove itself.  

Note: Bring binoculars, cameras and be prepared for sun exposure.   Tour includes lunch.

FT17 departs hotel at 8:00 a.m.; returns by 4:00 p.m. Cost: $50
Leader: Dr. Paul Keddy, Southeastern Louisiana University.

FT18 - LOUISIANA CHENIER PLAIN

This primary bus tour to the Chenier Plain of the Southwest corner of Louisiana is a must for anyone wanting to see and learn about a very different, but important region of the Gulf Coast. A tremendous amount of ecology mixed with Cajun culture will be covered on the trip.  Traveling first south and then to the west, the tour will cross the southern reaches of the Atchafalaya Swamp, the largest riverine swamp in North America. From Abbeville, we’ll drive the southern most roads in the state through marsh, first arriving at Pecan Island, a land locked island where ancient mounds of Attakapa Indians can be seen and where families still drive cattle to market the old fashioned way, by horse through the marsh. The infamous pirate Jean Lafitte wrote in his memoirs that he buried some of his treasure on Pecan Island, he just couldn’t remember where. Traveling west through brackish marsh reaching as far as the eye can see, on a road that didn’t exist until the 1960’s, we’ll reach the Chenier Plain. Cheniers, which roughly translated from French means 'the place of the oaks', are ancient beach ridges, abandoned long ago in the processes of sea level rise and fall and the switching courses of influential rivers, such as the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, Mermentau and Calcasieu Rivers. Over time, these ridges have been colonized mostly by stately live oaks, draped in Spanish moss. On the tour, we will discuss local cultures and peoples who have inhabited the land over the centuries, see examples of water control, discuss the fight for hydrological control in the region, see examples of land loss, and visit Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, home to Louisiana’s premier alligator restoration program. At  Rockefeller, examples of 'terracing', a wetland restoration technique will also be seen. There will be discussion about problems related to wetland loss and the management of coastal wetlands along the way. Most of the road traveled will be through Louisiana wetlands, including more than half of the Chenier Plain. On the return trip to New Orleans, we’ll cross the northern half of the Atchafalaya Swamp, including 22 miles of continuously elevated Interstate; one of the last major stretches of the US interstate system that, due to technological restrictions, was not completed until 1973. 

Note: Dress for the weather, which will likely be hot.  Afternoon thunderstorms can be frequent at this time of year. Insects may be in abundance and some of the foot travel could be on muddy soils.  Lunch and soft drinks will be included. 

FT18 departs hotel at 7:00 a.m.; returns by 7:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leader: Dr. Mark Ford, McNeese State University.

FT19  -  SALT MARSH DIEBACK PROJECT

In May 2000 coastal Louisiana experienced a dramatic dieback event in its saline marsh dominated by Spartina alterniflora.  Study sites were set up by wetland researchers to monitor dieback and recovery, and to try to determine causes.  On this trip, we will drive through coastal wetlands to Houma, then to a boat launch at Point au Chien (Bayou Jean Lacroix).  A short boat ride will be made to the marsh sites where boardwalks were constructed for data collection.  One site was impacted by the dieback while an adjacent reference site did not dieback during the event.  The impacted site was completely devegetated but has been steadily recovering to date.  Research methodology and results (vegetation, hydrology, elevation, and interstitial water chemistry) will be discussed at the sites.  If time permits, on the return trip, we will visit the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) facility at Cocodrie, Louisiana for a brief orientation.

Note: Bring field clothes, sunscreen, insect repellant, hat, and rain gear.  For footgear low rubber boots, tennis shoes or hiking boots will be ok on the boardwalk.  If a participant wants to walk in the marsh, hip boots are required.  Binoculars for birding are optional. 

FT19 departs hotel at 8:30 a.m.; returns 5:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leaders:  Drs. Tommy Michot & Brian Perez, U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center.

FT20  -  SEAPLANE TRIP TO THE CHANDELEUR ISLANDS

CANCELLED

FT21 - PINE FLATWOOD WETLANDS
Use of the Hydrogeomorphic Approach

Pine flatwoods support some of the most interesting plants in the country!  Carnivorous plants like pitcher plants (Sarracenia) and sundews (Drosera) consume insects to supplement nutrient needs that are often limited in these unique wetland ecosystems.  These wetlands also represent some of the most botanically diverse ecosystems in the country, some with over 200 plant species observed per square meter. The trip will visit several sites within 1.5 hrs drive from New Orleans to compare and contrast them.  Participants will receive instruction in plant taxonomy and pine flatwood ecology.  Participants will also conduct a hands-on exercise to quantify potential project impacts by using the Hydrogeomorphic Approach.  This trip is a must for those who want a hands-on experience in applied ecology in a very under appreciated wetland type. 

Note: Please bring hat, insect repellant, and shoes for getting wet.  Tour includes lunch.

FT21 departs hotel at 7:00 a.m.; returns by 6:00 p.m.  Cost: $50
Leaders: Drs. Ellis J. “Buddy” Clairain, Jr. and Richard Rheinhardt, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

GEAR AND DRESS FOR ALL FIELD TRIPS

The following should be a clear reminder that nearly all field trips listed require certain gear and dress.  Please heed the following general points and recommendations:

DEPARTURE, RETURN TIMES & OTHER INFO