labcl april 20 2012

“Most cypress stands today are second growth, but there still remain a few giants among us. They exist because they are hollow and thus not merchantable or because they grow in an area so remote as to make harvest unfeasible. They tower one hundred feet above the earth and laid down their first annular rings during the classical period of the Mayan culture…….

Bear Bayou, St. Mary Parish

…..They germinated and grew into seedling as Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman emperor. They were sound and mature when the sun gleamed from the swords of Hernando DeSoto’s men as they marched across northeast Louisiana in a fruitless search for gold……

…..It is possible that their limbs were once laden with the weight of a thousand passenger pigeons and that their bark was probed by ivory-billed woodpeckers. Cougars and bears may have sought refuge in their hollows. It is likely that a few of these will still be greeting each spring with a fresh feathering of needle-like leaves in centuries to come” Kelby Ouchley

Harper’s MagazineLouisiana swamp scene c. 1886

What’s the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy All About ?

• Finding the big trees

• Landmarking• Circumference measurement• Coring to determine age• Placing plaque “Alive in 1803”

(and for the Bicentennial Cypress Legacy in 2012—

“Alive in 1812”)

• Promoting Stewardship

West Pearl River, Goat Island

St. Tammany Parish

Bayou Chemin a Haute, Morehouse Parish

Bayou Pierre PartAssumption Parish

Bayou Pierre Part, Assumption parish

“National Champion” Bald Cypress”, Cat Island NWR,

West Feliciana Parish

St. Martin Parish




(and for the Bicentennial Cypress Legacy in 2012— “Alive in 1812”)


Three Rivers Wildlife Management AreaConcordia ParishApprox. 34 ft circumference

Tangipahoa Parish

Lake Fausse, Iberia Parish

Circumference: 17 feet Core length 3” Rings counted: approx 117

Bayou Chemin a Haute

Rings on a cypress core

The Hamicks

Crowley LA

Darrell Mabile and sonPierre Part, Assumption Parish

Johnny and Mamie Majoria

Farm at Sargent Lake, Catahoula Parish

Avoyelles Parish

McCann Farm

Old growth Cypress has high habitat value …

Tree dens may be an important component for female reproductive success in areas subject to flooding (Hellgren and Vaughan 1989). Den trees located in cypress swamps would appear to increase the security (e.g., decrease the disturbance) of bears utilizing these dens compared to ground dens.Benson (2005) reported a relatively high reuse of tree dens on Tensas [LA. Wildlife Refuge] with almost all denning attempts occurring in mature bald cypress. Trees large enough and sufficiently mature to contain usablecavities are almost always found in places inaccessible to logging (Marchinton 1995) or are left standing due to their low economic value.

DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLANAND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTTENSAS RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

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Habitat of the Ivory-billed WoodpeckerIvory-billed Woodpeckers inhabit very large tracts of mature cypressforest that are often associated with swamps or river systems

Stand of cypress trees in White River National Wildlife Refuge Southeastern Arkansas—location of recent possible sighting of ivory billed woodpecker (photo by Clark Jones. )

Undisclosed Location Endangered species habitat

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Louisiana’s statehood, we are initiating a complementary effort– the Louisiana Bicentennial Cypress Legacy– to landmark cypress that were alive in Louisiana in 1812

Buckhorn Wildlife Management AreaTensas Parish– this cypress at Brushy Lake landmarked as a La. Bientennial Legacy Tree

Logging for Cypress Mulch·

Cypress mulch used to be made from the heartwood of old growth trees. There is some evidence that this heartwood made durable mulch, but those old growth trees were harvested long ago.Cypress mulch has a reputation of being insect resistant. The truth is that there is no scientific evidence that backs up the claims of insect resistance.

Myths About the Weed Resistance of Cypress

· Another myth claims that cypress mulch is more weed resistant than other mulches, but the weed resistance of any mulch stems from the fact that it blocks out sunlight so that weed seeds cannot germinate.

The Cypress Mulch Industry is Unsustainable

· The demand for cypress mulch outstrips the growth of this tree. As consumer demand grows whole forests of cypress are being cut down.

Environmental Concerns of Cypress Mulch

· Cypress forests play a role in protecting coastal cities from hurricanes and provide habitat for many species of wildlife.

A Significant threat to cypress in Louisiana

Contact:

Harvey Stern

LaPurchaseCypressLegacy.blogspot.com

[email protected]

504-891-7116

“Time, time as we dissect it in days and hours and minutes loses all meaning in a setting such as this. Here is a forest that was young when life itself was young. Here are trees that have already stood for a millennium or two – and still their lives will outlast yours a thousand years.”Philip Hyde and Francois Leydet in the Sierra Club’s “Last Redwoods,” (certainly applicable to Louisiana’s majestic old growth cypress as well)

“Let us be reverent a little as we stand here in the hush of these leafy sanctuaries—be reverent a little, if reverence in this age is possible. These great trees belong to the silences and the millenniums. Many of them have seen more than a hundred of our human generations rise, and give out their little clamors and perish. They chide our pettiness, they rebuke our impiety. They seem, indeed, to be forms of immortality standing here among the transitory shapes of time.” Edwin Markham, 1914

labcl april 20 2012

Technology

cypress core

cypress swamps

photob of cypress trees

cypress mulchcypress

cypress mulch indu

weed resistance of cypress

plaque alive

inmature bald cypress