Sunday, February 13, 2022



                                    


Ancient Lasalle Parish cypress landmarked on Big Saline Bayou, LaSalle Parish



This beautiful old cypress on Big Saline Bayou surpasses in age by several centuries the previously land marked LaSalle Parish cypress near the shore of Lake Catahoula which we landmarked with Plaque 74  in 20  (see Blog entry for LaSalle Parish, Dec 11. 2019 ) . We are always on the lookout in Parishes that already have LPCl landmarked cypress for additional cypress that may be older/larger in circumference,  in addition to those Parishes for which we have yet to discover cypress that were "Alive in 1803"-- see list at end of this blog post.

Here is how we estimated the age of this  Big Saline Bayou Beauty:

Circumference: 15' 2", Daimeter: 58", Radius:29"

Boring: 9.25 inches. Rings counted: Approx 293

    9.25 inch boring / 21 inch radius = 293 rings / x

    X = 918 projected rings

Accounting for likely faster growing period at during this tree's younger years (inner section of tree that is hollow) we are estimating this tree at over 700 years old.  LPCL Plaque # 74




Location is on right bank of Big Saline Bayou,  a few minutes paddle upstream of the Paul St. Bridge put-in, at the entrance into the Dewey Wills Wildlife Management Area.
GPS coordinates: N31 24.004 W92 08.452



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Where is the oldest cypress in your Parish?

As mentioned above, we are attempting to find at least one tree in each Louisiana Parish that was alive at the time of the Louisiana Parish in 1803. Click here for a link to a current registry of the Parishes for which LPCL landmarked trees have been identified (St. Mary Parish registered trees and Lafayette Parish trees to be added shortly). As of February, 2022 about two thirds of all Louisiana Parishes have at least one registered LPCL cypress-- "Alive in 1803"
Here are the Parishes for which we are still seeking to identify and landmark a 219+ year old cypress:


Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Claiborne, E. Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lincoln, Madison, Ouachita, Pointe Coupee, Red River, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Helena, Vermillion, Vernon, W Baton Rouge, West Carrol


Please contact Harvey Stern at LaPurchase CypressLegacy@gmail.com with any leads. And to help pay for the plaques that are on many of our landmarked cypress throughout Louisiana, we welcome any donations to the La. Purchase Cypress Legacy-- a 501 C-3 non-profit organization. Checks can be made payable to the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy and mailed to Harvey Stern, 740 7th St., New Orleans La 70115


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