Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Nearest city	Lacombe, Louisiana
Coordinates	30°17′00″N 89°58′00″W / 30.28333°N 89.96667°W / 30.28333; -89.96667Coordinates: 30°17′00″N 89°58′00″W / 30.28333°N 89.96667°W / 30.28333; -89.96667
Area	17,094 acres (6,918 ha)
Established	2001
Visitors	24,000 (in 2006)
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge was formed in 1994. It is composed of 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) of pine flatwoods, oak rides and coastal marsh. This diverse habitat is an example of the natural coastline of Lake Pontchartrain surrounded by fast developing communities.

Wildlife

Endangered wildlife in the refuge are red-cockaded woodpecker, bald eagle and brown pelican. Other wildlife include rabbit, turkey, various neo-tropical birds, deer, squirrel, migratory waterfowl, and wading birds.

Habitat

The refuge has unique habitat zones that contain diverse combinations of plant communities. These zones begin with the sandy beach fringing Lake Pontchartrain. Moving inland, the next zone is the brackish marsh. The third zone has a water level that is slightly below the marsh floor and the predominate plants are wiregrass and spike rush. The farthest inland plant zone is the upland zone and it consists of pine flatwoods and bottomland hardwood hammocks.

Hurricane damage

The facilities at Big Branch Marsh NWR were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The Boy Scout Road Trail boardwalk was destroyed but a new and improved boardwalk was built in early 2007. The other facilities on the refuge have been repaired or rebuilt. Sections of marsh vegetation were damaged and thousands of trees were destroyed or damaged. We planted trees on the refuge in 2006, 2007, and 2008. A marsh restoration project is scheduled for 2008 in the Goose Point and Point Platte areas and Christmas tree fences have been placed in some areas of the marsh. Discarded Christmas trees placed in these fences slow wave action, trap sediments, and combat erosion.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service".

External links

Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal

National Historical Parks	Cane River Creole Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve New Orleans Jazz

National Monuments	Poverty Point

National Marine Sanctuary	Flower Garden Banks

National Forests	Kisatchie

National Wildlife Refuge System	Atchafalaya Bayou Cocodrie Bayou Sauvage Bayou Teche Big Branch Marsh Black Bayou Lake Bogue Chitto Breton Cameron Prairie Cat Island Catahoula D'Arbonne Delta East Cove Grand Cote Handy Brake Lacassine Lake Ophelia Mandalay Red River Shell Keys Sabine Tensas River Upper Ouachita

State

State Parks	Bayou Segnette Bogue Chitto Chemin-A-Haut Chicot Cypremort Point Fairview-Riverside Fontainebleau Grand Isle Hodges Gardens Jimmie Davis Lake Bistineau Lake Bruin Lake Claiborne Lake D-Arbonne Lake Fausse Pointe North Toledo Bend Palmetto Island Poverty Point Reservoir St. Bernard Sam Houston Jones South Toledo Bend Tickfaw

State Historic Sites	Audubon Centenary Fort Jesup Fort Pike Fort St. Jean Baptiste Forts Randolph & Buhlow Locust Grove Longfellow-Evangeline Los Adaes Mansfield Marksville Plaquemine Lock Port Hudson Poverty Point Rebel State Rosedown Plantation Winter Quarters

State Preservation Area	Louisiana State Arboretum

State Forests	Alexander Indian Creek

State Wildlife Refuges	Elmer's Island Marsh Island Rockefeller St. Tammany State Terrebonne Barrier Islands White Lake Wetlands

Wildlife management areas	Acadiana Conservation Corridor Atchafalaya Delta Attakapas Barataria Preserve Bayou Macon Bayou Pierre Ben's Creek Big Colewa Bayou Big Lake Biloxi Bodcau Boeuf Bonnet Carré Spillway Buckhorn Camp Beauregard Catahoula Lake Clear Creek Dewey Wills Elbow Slough Elm Hall Floy Ward McElroy Fort Polk Grassy Lake Hutchinson Creek Indian Bayou Jackson Bienville Joyce Lake Boeuf Lake Ramsey Savannah Little River Loggy Bayou Manchac Marsh Bayou Maurepas Swamp Old River Control Ouachita Pass A Loutre Pearl River Peason Ridge Pointe-aux-Chenes Pomme de Terre Red River Russell Sage Sabine Island Sabine Salvador/Timken Sandy Hollow Sherburne Sicily Island Hills Soda Lake Spring Bayou Tangipahoa Parish School Board Thistlethwaite Three Rivers Tunica Hills Union Walnut Hill West Bay

Other

Private	Bird City Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary

City	Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism (web)
Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (web)
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (web)

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

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