Conservation action yesterday

No torching of developments, no vandalism, no breaking of any laws whatsoever, so if you were looking for that, you'll be disappointed.

A buddy of mine who is a Texas park ranger called me up Tuesday night and asked if i was free Wednesday to go to Louisiana.

There was a wetland site with hundreds of carnivorous plants that was about to be bulldozed, and the owner had given permission for us to go rescue the plants.

So, I took a vacation day and went with him to Covington LA, near Abita Springs. The site was pretty beautiful; Bulldozers had already been through parts, but pitcher plants and sundews were still thriving, even in the tracks!

There was incredible genetic diversity in the carnivorous plants at that site.

We dug up about 100 plants, but there are still hundreds more.

It will be turned into apartment buildings for the elderly.

Actually, my great-aunt owns a nursery near Amite. Would it be possible for you to PM me some contact info? If there are more plants there, she just might be interested.

I hope it is not the place I think it is...I thought it belonged to Nature Conservancy with all the parrot wing pitcher plants and other species I don't know enough to ID. It makes me ill. They are going to cut down every scrap of green in Western St. Tammany before it is done.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

It is right across the street from a small YMCA.

The plants were mostly Sarracenia alata (pale pitcher plant). We found one Sarracenia psittacina (parrot pitcher plant).

There were also thousands of sundews, Drosera capillaris and Drosera brevifolia.

From the CP ListServ:

Greetings List,

If any of you live near the Abita Springs area of Louisiana and areinterested in rescuing some S. alata plants from an impending bulldozing, please contact Mr. Leo Sanchez.

He has arranged with the landowners for written permissions to access theproperty to rescue plants. He has done this on his own as a concerned citizen (thanks again Leo). Please contact Leo directly to make arrangements. His email is DeSanleo@aol.com or his home phone is 985-809-0141. Do not contact the ICPS for information or details about the site... we are not involved in this rescue, but rather are making it public to aid in Leo's efforts.

"I was a little surprised today to find that a number of these brave little plants are growing through the bulldozer tracks from the last clearing. That is one hardy little booger. Someone was out there during the week and piled a lotta brush and is doing more clearing." A guote from Leo.

Carl Mazur ICPS President

Leo Sanchez
DeSanleo@aol.com
985-809-0141

Leo has a permission letter from the site owner. He will xerox a copy for you if you ask nicely. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the letter BEFORE doing any digging, or entering the site.

I'll contact him for permission and if there are still plants needing to be rescued next week, I'll be there with bells on.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

and lots of plastic bags.

Finally a use for all those plastic bags that have somehow managed to accumulate despite my best efforts.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

Most of my flower garden came from a garden at my husband's work that was going to be demolished during a building expansion. We everything we could fit in the Jeep and donated what we didn't use to the local parks department.

to members of the ICPS (International Carnivorous Plant Society) and NASC (North American Sarracenia Conservancy).

Around here that doesn't happen unless, of course, the property owner is the DOT. Most local ordinances protect all wetlands regardless of size. No clearing within 100 feet was the ordinance when I worked for a local government in the 90s. :cry:

Yeah, we used to have wetland protection in western St. Tammany...but no more. I don't know how they got around it, but they got the regulations changed a few years ago now, and I've got some theories that big money GOPers were behind it based on 1) the number one industry of the area is real estate, and 2) most if not virtually all of the contractors and builders around here are GOP f**kwits.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72