America's Wetland Birding Trail

NEW!
Louisiana Office of Tourism official website for America's Wetland Birding Trail along the Louisiana Great Gulf Coast.

America's Wetland Birding Trail is Complete

Welcome to America's Wetland Birding Trail! With landscapes ranging from coastal wetlands to rolling hills and prairies, Louisiana is a nature lover's paradise. Whether you are an avid birder or a casual nature enthusiast, visitors can explore Louisiana 's wild spaces through the numerous State Parks, State Historic Sites, State Preservation Areas, National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlife Management Areas, and other natural spots throughout the state.

America's Wetland Birding Trail will help visitors explore some of Louisiana 's most productive natural places along the coast and expose them to some of the best birding in the country. The trail begins at the Texas border and follows 7 scenic byways through 22 counties along Interstate 10 to the Mississippi border.

The trail's 115 sites introduce visitors to a variety of Louisiana's coastal habitats including fresh and saltwater marshes, cheniers, upland pines, riparian hardwood forests, cypress-tupelo swamps, bottomland hardwood forests, open meadows, lagoons, canals, borrow pits, and natural bayous, to name a few. Associated with these diverse habitats are an exceptional array of birds and other wildlife.

Visit the Promiseland Scenic Byway - Atchafalaya Basin Loop to see thousands of migratory waterfowl that flock to the region every year or just revel in the area's herons, ibises, eagles, Osprey and many more. Visit Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge on the Louisiana Scenic Bayou Scenic Byway - Florida Parishes Loop to see the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, one of our nation's few officially endangered bird species. In addition to exceptional birds and other wildlife, America's Wetland Birding Trail also exposes visitors to some of the state's unique history and culture.

Loop Guides Available Online for Review

All 12 individual loop guides as well as the complete trail map and guide are now available online. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments and corrections. We appreciate all of your help in helping to make the America's Wetland Birding Trail a success.

America's Wetland Birding Trail Map & Guide including introductions to all 12 loops and a complete trail map (to be folded):

1. America's Wetland Birding Trail Guide

2. America's Wetland Birding Trail Map

Individual Loop Guides:

 1: Creole Nature Trail All-American Road-Sabine Loop (updated 10/5/04)

 2: Creole Nature Trail All-American Road - Creole Loop (updated 10/5/04)

 3: Jean Lafitte Scenic Byway - Lacassine Loop (updated10/5/04)

 4: Jean Lafitte Scenic Byway - Vermilion Loop  (updated 10/5/04)

 5: Promised Land Scenic Byway - Atchafalaya Loop (updated 10/6/04)

 6: Bayou Teche Scenic Byway - St. Mary Loop (updated 10/5/04)

 7: San Bernardo Scenic Byway - Orleans Loop (updated 10/5/04)

 8: Cultural Wetlands Scenic Byway - Terrebonne (updated 10/5/04)

 9: Cultural Wetlands Scenic Byway - Grand Isle Loop (updated 10/5/04)

10: Barataria Loop (updated10/6/04)

11: Louisiana Scenic Bayou Scenic Byway - West Florida Parishes Loop

(updated 10/6/04)

12: Louisiana Scenic Bayou Scenic Byway - East Florida Parishes Loop

(updated 10/6/04)

June 17, 2003
Frequently Asked Questions about the

America's Wetland Birding Trail Project

Planning for the America's Wetland Birding Trail

April 2003 - Fermata was contracted by the Louisiana Office of Tourism to identify sites, develop and design the route for the America's Wetland Birding Trail, and develop collateral literature and maps to complement the tour and highlight the nature experience. The Trail will build upon designated scenic byways and local grass roots support. The Trail will connect individual scenic byways to larger themes and opportunities to enhance routes, identify complementary uses such as bike trails, add more experience for the visitor, and link the individual routes to a greater transportation network extending across the southern region of the state from the Texas border to the Mississippi state line.

To learn more about the project contact:
Mary Jeanne Packer, Project Manager, Fermata
Sharon Calcote, Director, Louisiana Heritage Tourism Development, Louisiana Office of Tourism

From a post to the LABIRD-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU

April 07, 2003

All:

I wanted to add a few words to the discussion of a Louisiana coastal birding trail, and thank Beth for faithfully reporting developments to LA-BIRD. I also want to thank those employees of state government, overworked and underpaid, like Sharon Calcote with Culture, Recreation and Tourism and Elinor Craven with State parks who have persevered in this effort. First, I have to say that I share the queasiness of those of you out there who are leery of promoting birding. I like the privacy of birding among friends in Louisiana--the lack of crowds, the solitude. But I have seen great birding spot after great birding spot succumb to the bulldozer. I accept that promoting birding and other forms of ecotourism are one very effective means for providing an economic incentive to the powers that be to save habitat for birds and birders.

I want to echo Don Richardson's assessment of Ted Eubanks and Fermata. I am very pleased that they successfully bid for the contract with the La. Dept. of Culture Recreation and Tourism. Ted helped pioneer the Texas trail, which is the forerunner of other birding trail efforts. Ted, as a birder, brought to the Texas effort an understanding of the needs of birders. As a conservationist, he brought a more important understanding of the needs of birds. But where Ted excelled was in bringing an understanding of the economic impact of birding, and in marketing the trail to citizens, businesses and politicians in a way that made them understand that there is money to be made in attracting birders to an area.

Birders come for birds. Birds come to habitat. Ergo, if you want money, protect and enhance habitat and then brag about it. Believe it or not, before the Great Texas Birding Trail was finished, landowners and communities along the Texas Coast were coming to Texas and Parks and Wildlife and asking what they had to do be included on the maps. The answer was simple: identify and protect important bird habitat and make it accessible to the public. Many responded, and some important habitat was protected or enhanced as a result.

The difficulty of developing a birding trail is not in choosing a near-coastal route. Any ten experienced birders in this state could pick a route by poring over a map while consuming a couple of beers or a bottle(s) of wine. We all know the obvious places, and there are a limited number of possible highways in coastal Louisiana. The side spurs will take a little more thought, mostly because there are a lot of choices.

Various groups in the state, like the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary program staff and their bird committee have already done a lot of the leg work But if you think about it, and look at a map, the truth is that once you leave Cameron going east, there are very few places that are:

1. guaranteed to produce good birding spectacle;
2. safely accessible by automobile; and
3. publicly-owned or open to the public.

Our birding hot spots tend to be ephemeral, moving with season and water levels. There is no infrastructure for birders--the state can't very well produce literature for a birding trail that tells people to drive around on back roads in the rice fields until you find birds, then pull over onto the shoulder as much as you can, but be careful to avoid the ditch. Turn on your emergency flashers if you're sticking out into the road. And, oh, by the way, don't trespass, unless nobody is around and you think you can get away with it.

99% of the best migrant land-birding spots are on private property, where trespass is tolerated but hardly official--nothing that can be put on a map. Most of our public land is marsh or swamp, usually accessible only by boat. Even where highways intersect state Wildlife Mgmt. Areas, there is usually no infrastructure for birders. These lands are managed for hunting and fishing; parking, trails, boardwalks, and observation decks are all but non-existent in the best public birding areas. State highways which provide views of our incredible roadside birding spectacle are without adequate shoulders--stopping endangers lives and often brings flashing lights.

Experienced hard-core local birders know how to get around all these obstacles. Ma and Pa birder from Indiana or London don't. The folks who develop the trail have to convince local elected officials, businesses, and chambers of commerce that a small investment can pay off. They have to convince rural residents and landowners that a stream of birders following a map down their back road won't disrupt their lives. They have to convince state officials to spend the money on infrastructure along highways and on state land. And more land has to be bought, managed for birds, and opened to the public.

I am confident that Fermata is the right company to help guide that process. I understand that they have already started sub-contracting with some very able Louisiana birder/consultants. I urge all of you to participate in the process, especially those of you who can influence your local communities along the route. And don't worry if you don't live or bird along the coast--once Louisiana links up with the other Gulf Coast states for the coastal birding trail, inland trails won't be far behind.

David Muth
New Orleans

Fermata's president, Ted Lee Eubanks, Jr. is a founding sponsor of the Conservation Through Birding initiative. CTB is an affiliation devoted to promoting the recreation of birding as a tool to effect wildlife conservation. Please join us in supporting this important effort. MORE

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