Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy

             LAKE BRUIN CYPRESS LANDMARKED IN TENSAS PARISH-- "ALIVE IN 1803" (?)

A  Lake Bruin cypress in Tenses Parish  appeared to be an unlikely candidate for Cypress Legacy landmarking.
But life long Tensas Parish resident Skip Hawkins, pictured above, believed  that this patch of cypress in the lake had never been logged and may be worth looking at. At only six feet in circumference, the tree belied its looks-- a ring count on the boring sample below revealed a tree likely between 190-220 years old. Probably about a 50- 50 chance it's a La Purchase Cypress Legacy Tree-- alive in 1803.

Here are the details:
GPS: N31 59.921 W
Circumference:  72 inches   Diameter:  22 inches   Radius: 11 inches

Boring:  4.75 inches   Rings counted: approx 103

4.75(boring)/11(radius) = 103 (rings counted)/ x

X = 238 projected rings

Based on length of boring relative to radius, location of tree, I’d project the age at 190-220 years

Tightly spaced rings mean slow growth and old age for this medium sized cypress.

 

Skip certainly knows the lay of the land in Tenses Parish and surrounding areas. His ecotourism group , Louisiana Delta Adventures (Louisianadeltaaddventures.com), has mapped out paddling trails through many of North central and northwest Louisiana's  waterways, including Lake St. John, Bayou Bartholomew,Tensas National Wildlife Refuge, Corney Bayou, and Bayou De L'outre and many more. Excellent brochures available though Louisiana Delta Adventures highlight the locations (including GPS coordinates)  of relatively accessible centuries old cypress interspersed along these waterways. The Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy is honored to work with Louisiana Delta Adventures to promote the appreciation and stewardship of the remarkable natural heritage of north and central Louisiana.
Currently the oldest known cypress in Tensas Parish is the easily accessible landmarked (Louisiana Bicentennial Cypress Legacy plaque) Buckhorn Refuge Cypress (N32 06.68 W091 21.940) circumference 23'5", estimated age 450-500 yearsThe largest/oldest cypress (see Blog inventory for photo)