Lost and found: Louisiana’s coastal prairies
It’s hard to fathom, but in just 250 years, some 2.5 million acres of coastal prairie that once blanketed in southwest Louisiana have dwindled to just 200 in scattered parcels.
The journals of early settlers give us a peek at what it was like: “plentiful game,” “seemingly infinite range for livestock forage,” “long growing season.” As the human population grew, with its concomitant increase in trade, the prairie’s demise ensued. By 1920, overgrazing and large-scale land clearing, primarily for rice production, had reduced the prairie to a fraction of its former self. This loss has had substantial effects on avian species such as Bachman’s, Texas olive, and Henslow’s sparrows, mottled duck, dickcissel, whooping crane, and Attwater’s greater prairie-chicken, now extirpated in Louisiana.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2003 |
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Title | Lost and found: Louisiana’s coastal prairies |
Authors | John Pitre, Larry K. Allain |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Birdscapes |
Index ID | 70206759 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | National Wetlands Research Center; Wetland and Aquatic Research Center |