OLDEST KNOWN CYPRESS IN  VERMILLION PARISH IDENTIFIED IN  PALMETTO ISLAND STATE PARK

                                      Video of Landmarked LPCL tree in Palmetto Island State Park

The Louisiana Purchase Cypress  Legacy Campaign is delighted to announce the discovery of the oldest known cypress in Vermillion Parish, found at the end of the canoe trail that winds through Palmetto State Park south of Abbeville. Location is on the left side of the bayou, just before the entrance to the Vermillion River and below the bridge and weir. Although most LPCL landmarked trees need a boat to get to them, this one is visible from the Park picnic area near the bridge (see map below) 

Here is what we found:

GPS coordinates: 29 51.880N  092 88.032W

Circumference: Approx. 14'6" at trunk;  radius: 28 inches

Boring length: 5.5"

Approximate rings counted: 68

5.5" boring / 28" radius = 68 boring rings / X (total estimated rings)

X = 368 projected rings

Projected age is around 275-300 years old, taking into account  likely faster growth during the trees earliest years-- years which typically don't show up in boring samples, since the interior layers have deteriorated, resulting in hollow trunks. The boring is somewhat unusual in its spacing of growth rings (see photo below)-- very slow growth  (closely spaced rings) are interspersed with widely separated rings (indicating faster growth) during some years.

Portion of 5.5 inch boring from Palmetto State Park LPCL landmarked
cypress, Slower growth seen in closely spaced rings on right; faster growth  in more
widely spaced rings at center and left section of photo.

We are proud to have awarded this fine old cypress plaque #77 and congratulate Palmetto Island State Park for its stewardship of what is currently the oldest known cypress in Vermillion Parish. Additionally, this is one of the most southerly located cypress found to be worthy of LPCL landmarking-- "Alive in 1803", significant because of both natural and made-made stresses on the health of cypress in coastal Louisiana, including salt-water intrusion and subsidence

With the addition of Vermillion Parish to the LPCL registry there are  now 24 Parishes in which cypress trees greater than 219 years old  ("Alive in 1803") have yet to be identified:

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. (EIN 83-2457520) Checks can be made payable to the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy and mailed to Harvey Stern, 740 7th St., New Orleans La 70115

Oldest known cypress landmarked in Lafayette and St. Mary Parishes

 Oldest known cypress in St. Mary and Lafayette     Parishes discovered along Bayou Tortue

Bayou Tortue, bordering Lafayette La, is the boundary between St. Mary and Lafayette Parishes

Until recently St. Mary and Lafayette Parishes were among those for which know La Purchase Cypress trees  been landmarked-- those trees determined  to be older  than 219 years old-- alive at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Last December we explored Bayou Tortue and were fortunate to find among  the scattered old growth two cypress on either side two cypress worthy of LPCL plaques, attesting they were "Alive in 1803" --based on ring counts of borings taken form the trees. 

On the Lafayette Parish (west) side of Bayou Tortue.about two hundred feet from the shore is a fine old cypress landmarked with LPCL plaque #75

Here's what we found regarding the estimated age of this tree:

Measured circumference 18'11"  six feet above base

Estimated trunk circumference above buttress: 16'6"   radius 31"

Boring: 7.75 inches  Rings counted: approximately 210 (very closely spaced)

Age calculation:

    7.75 inch boring / 31 inch radius = 210 estimated boring rings / x (estimated age)

    X = 810 years

Accounting for likely faster growth in the tree's earlier growing years (in the currently hollow inner section of the tree), we are estimating this tree at over 600 years old.  Plaque #75

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A few minutes paddle futher north on Bayou Tortue from the oldest known cypress in St Mary Parish

is located on the eastern side of the bayou. A bit smaller than the Lafayette Parish landmarked cypress just upstream, it is nonetheless worthy of LPCL landmark status based on its projected age, as determined here:

Measured circumference: 15'6"   radius: 29"

Estimated trunk circumference above buttress: 14   radius 27"

Boring: 13.25 inches  Rings counted: approximately 267

Age calculation:

    13.25 inch boring / 27 inch radius = 267 estimated boring rings / x (estimated age)

    X = 536 years

Accounting, as usual, for likely faster growth in the tree's earlier growing years (rings further apart than thiose found on the boring) we are estimation the age of this tree at over 400 years old. Plaque #76

Below is a short video of this cypress

We should note that we are long overdue to visit a cypress near Duck Lake northwest of Morgan Cityin St. Mary Parish

that we are told has a 31' circumference. This could easily be an older cypress than the one landmarked on Bayou Tortue

                                    

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

   Hardwater Lake in Grant Parish a Treasure            Trove of Old Growth Cypress 

As promised in an earlier post, we will be adding locations throughout Louisiana where significant stands of old growth are accessible. One of favorite areas to explore is Hardware Lake in Grant Parish. Hundreds of old growth cypress are within easy paddling distance of the boat launch, including the grizzly old one we awarded Plaque #73--- many of which are likely several centuries old. The link below takes you to a map showing you the GPS location and a photo of the cypress at that location.

Hardwater Lake Map of Old Growth Cypress 

OLD GROWTH CYPRESS DOES NOT ESCAPE HURRICANE IDA’S WRATH

Many of the old growth cypress landmarked by the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy since 2003 were in the the wide swath of Ida’s very strong winds. We can report on three of these cypress located in St. John, St. Charles, and Jefferson Parishes.

 

The most damaged cypress of the three mentioned in this blog entry is the Shell Bank Bayou Cypress, located near the entrance of Shell Bank Bayou off Hwy 55 in St. John Parish. This tree was landmarked in  with plaque # 39 in 2013; estimated at 450  years old base on account of rings taken from a boring.

LPCL cypress on Shell Bank Bayou, St. John Parish after Ida, September 2021

                                                             (Plaque #38 remains on tree)

Paddlers passing by LPCL Landmarked cypress (Plaque #39 ) (Before Ida)

Here is a link to the 2014 blog entry providing more information about the LPCL landmarking of this tree.
                                                

Although we're unlikely to see this tree return to its former glory in our lifetimes (if at all), this fine old cypress deserves our best wishes for  leafy new limbs and a second lease on life.

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"The Monarch Cypress"-- Barrataria Preserve (Jean Lafitte National Park), Jefferson Parish

Perhaps among the most visited of all landmarked LPCL cypress, this cypress is easily accessible  from the Bayou Coquille trail. Estimated at over 600 years old, it is the older known cypress in Jefferson Parish.

Barrataria Preserve "Monarch Cypress" on Coquille Trail in September 2021 after Ida impact

                                         -- it is  missing large limbs seen in 2012 photo below

       Dedication in 2012 of LPCL's Founders tree for Louisiana Bicentennial Cypress Legacy

This cherished "Monarch" of the Barrataria Preserve also lost limbs during Hurricane Zeta and no doubt has weathered many undocumented hurricanes through the centuries. As with all trees impacted by Hurricane Ida, we wish the Monarch a healthy recovery many more years of stately grandeur.

Click here for the 2012 Times Picayune story about the La Bicentennisl Cypress Legacy dedication of the Barrataria Preserve Monarch cypress.

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Dufrene Cypress, Pierre Part, St. Charles Parish

We can report happier news regarding the beloved Dufrene family cypress along Bayou Gauche in Pierre Part, St. Charles Parish. Despite enduring Ida's winds well in excess of 100mph. it came through unscathed. It was landmarked in 2010 (LPCL Plaque #27), and at approximately 300+ years old, is still the oldest known cypress in St. Charles Parish. At about half the age of the Barrataria "Monarch"  and 150 years younger than the unfortunate Shell Bank Bayou cypress described above, the Dufrene family cypress may been more resilient to very strong winds than the two other more aged trees shown above.

Although this tree has likely survived countless hurricanes through the centuries, it was not Mother Nature that nearly brought down this tree, but rather the "hand of man" in the form of proposed St. Charles Parish levee improvements that would have forced removal of the tree. But thanks to the tenacity of Murray Dufrene, this tree has thus far escaped destruction-- levee improvements will be located to  spare the tree.

Click here to read Murray's Dufrene's published plea for saving this cypress from the proposed St. Charles levee improvements

Dufrene Family cypress-- September 2021

Dufrene cypress in its splendor before to Hurricane Ida

The Dufrene family exemplifies the stewardship of privately owned old growth cypress that is helping ensure that centuries old (and in several cases millenium old) cypress throughout Louisiana will be there for future generations, however many hurricanes  and lightning storms come their way.

We'll continue to report on how other LPCL landmarked cypress have fared post-Ida. We welcome any updates from our readers, and, as always, appreciate any leads for old growth cypress throughout the state.

Finally, It is tragic that so many towns and settlements throughout southeast Louisiana have suffered at least as much damage from Hurricane Ida as our natural heritage--our centuries old cypress and live oaks; those trees that have survived likely provide little solace to those who have lost everything.  Louisianans have demonstrated resilience through the centuries despite what Mother Nature throws their way -- all the more reason that stewardship of our remaining old growth cypress is so vital.

Plentiful Old Growth Cypress along King George Bayou in Livingston Parish

We've received many requests since we began the La Purchase Cypress campaign in 2003 for areas where one can visit several large old cypress in one accessible location. In addition to responding to individual requests. we'll be periodically showcasing on this blogsite locales worth exploring for old growth cypress. The map link below shows sites of several cypress well over the 218 year threshold for inclusion of Louisiana trees in the LPCL inventory:

Click here for the map.

(Note that the map incorrectly labels King George Bayou as the Amite River-- King George Bayou does slowly flow into the Amite) Click on markers for GPS locations of these trees. Marker ID 76QR+8P is the location of a 16'11" circumference cypress from which a boring revealed extremely closely spaced rings--projected age: well over 500 years old. The map also shows the location of the largest and oldest known cypress along King George Bayou (LPCL Plaque #46), having a 21 foot circumference and a projected age of 1100+ years.

Access for canoe or kayak paddlers is at the end of King George "Bay" Road, which is off Hwy. 444 near French Settlement.

Fortunately for the  enduring survival of these primeval trees, much of King George Bayou was recently added to the State's Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area

 

              Another Livingston Parish Ancient Cypress Landmarked

Livingston Parish and the Amite River Watershed are proving to have a treasure trove of ancient cypress,  perhaps unmatched in Southeast Louisiana. (Click our inventory and map tabs above for a summary of some of the landmarked cypress in Livingston Parish). The Tickfaw River/State Park area, Bayou Barbary, and King George Bayou have offered up dozens of centuries old cypress. The most recent addition to this list is the Colyell Bayou area near French Settlement.

Click here to view the map. (Click teardrop markers on map for GPS and tree info.)

In July of 2020 Jesse Murphy and I paddled through a good portion of  the “Murphy Badlands” cypress swamp. This cypress swamp adjacent to Colyell Creek near French Settlement, owned by generations of the French Settlement Murphys,  is sprinkled with at least two  dozen centuries old cypress, three of which are located on the map below. The coring we took of one of these trees reveals an extremely old cypress, which has the distinction of being among the two or three oldest known cypress in the Livingston Parish/Amite River watershed, based on ring counts from borings:

Here are the statistics on what Jesse has named the “Parrain Cypress”:

Circumference: 23’6”—measured 6 ft. from base

Diameter: 7’6”  Radius: 3’9”

Boring length: 2.5”  Rings counted: 175

Projected age: 1100+ years 

This is a conservative age estimate. Even with likely much faster growth and thus more widely space rings in the now hollow early growth center of the tree, the ring count projection would make the tree much older than 1100 years (ring count corroborated by an LSU dendrochronologist)

Jesse Murphy awarding Parrain Tree Plaque #72

As can be seen from the photograph, yearly rings on the boring sample are extremely closely spaced; this combined with the tree’s very large circumference leads to the likelihood that this is a millennial cypress—at least 800 years old at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

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Our next blog entry-- coming shortly-- will feature one of several accessible areas where several old growth cypress can be viewed