| Virvi |
| Virgin Cypress - Centennials of the Swamp |
Here is Harvey Stern who came out in my area
to measure some of my trees at work. It kind of
gives you a perspective of their size. I was quite
impressed with his fearlessness. He got out in
the swamp in only shorts and tennis shoes to do
his work. He has a site with a registry of trees
that were around at the time of the signing of the
Louisiana Purchase from all over the state.
Check it out at www.lapurchasecypresslegacy.net
to measure some of my trees at work. It kind of
gives you a perspective of their size. I was quite
impressed with his fearlessness. He got out in
the swamp in only shorts and tennis shoes to do
his work. He has a site with a registry of trees
that were around at the time of the signing of the
Louisiana Purchase from all over the state.
Check it out at www.lapurchasecypresslegacy.net
This page is dedicated to what is probably
my favorite part of the swamp, the virgin
Cypress trees. The Bald Cypress is the
state tree of Louisiana. They are related to
the Sequoia and the Redwood and can live
to be over 1000 years old. Bald Cypress
was logged in the area from the 1890's to
the mid 1930's. It was used to build
everything from houses and ships to
cisterns, roof shingles and gutters. Cypress
was prized because it is rot and termite
resistant, at least the virgin cypress was.
Second growth cypress, sometimes called
"grow back cypress" doesn't have the same
qualities. Only a few of these Kings remain
and the ones left were left only because they
were hollow and weren't worth cutting down.
These trees are used by many different
types of wildlife. The Bald Eagles build their
nest on their tops, the wood ducks, barred
owls and many other birds nest in the holes.
Raccoons and other critters take shelter in
them and the Louisiana Black Bear
hibernate in them.
These cypress were around when
Columbus discovered America. They
watched over the native peoples that gently
lived in harmony with nature. They
witnessed Spanish explorers coming into
the area and experienced the influx of exiled
Acadians making a new start here and living
off the land. Some probably took a bullet or
two for a Civil War soldier. We shall never
see a forest of virgin cypress in our lifetime.
Most of the trees are only about 100 years
old and are what grew back after the logging
days. I intend to do a registry of as many of
these giants in my area as possible. I hope
to include pictures, measurements and GPS
coordinates. Come out and witness first
hand the awesome power of these
Centennials of the swamp.
my favorite part of the swamp, the virgin
Cypress trees. The Bald Cypress is the
state tree of Louisiana. They are related to
the Sequoia and the Redwood and can live
to be over 1000 years old. Bald Cypress
was logged in the area from the 1890's to
the mid 1930's. It was used to build
everything from houses and ships to
cisterns, roof shingles and gutters. Cypress
was prized because it is rot and termite
resistant, at least the virgin cypress was.
Second growth cypress, sometimes called
"grow back cypress" doesn't have the same
qualities. Only a few of these Kings remain
and the ones left were left only because they
were hollow and weren't worth cutting down.
These trees are used by many different
types of wildlife. The Bald Eagles build their
nest on their tops, the wood ducks, barred
owls and many other birds nest in the holes.
Raccoons and other critters take shelter in
them and the Louisiana Black Bear
hibernate in them.
These cypress were around when
Columbus discovered America. They
watched over the native peoples that gently
lived in harmony with nature. They
witnessed Spanish explorers coming into
the area and experienced the influx of exiled
Acadians making a new start here and living
off the land. Some probably took a bullet or
two for a Civil War soldier. We shall never
see a forest of virgin cypress in our lifetime.
Most of the trees are only about 100 years
old and are what grew back after the logging
days. I intend to do a registry of as many of
these giants in my area as possible. I hope
to include pictures, measurements and GPS
coordinates. Come out and witness first
hand the awesome power of these
Centennials of the swamp.
Attakapas Adventures Swamp Tours
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Here we are after crossing a pull boat run to
measure a giant. It was 23' in circumference!
It's gonna be hard work, but I'll enjoy every
second of it.
measure a giant. It was 23' in circumference!
It's gonna be hard work, but I'll enjoy every
second of it.
| Attakapas Adventures LLC Captain Ginger A. Rushing 1324 Hwy. 401 Napoleonville, La. 70390 985-369-8588 or 985-637-8923 attakapasadventures@Yahoo.com |
*I am happy to report that WalMart
from Louisiana January 1, 2008.
This is a huge step toward saving
our cypress forest for future
generations as well as our
protection from hurricanes.
from Louisiana January 1, 2008.
This is a huge step toward saving
our cypress forest for future
generations as well as our
protection from hurricanes.
