How Logging Affects our Forests

The wood of cypress was a very valuable commodity for early settlers
in this region. Old-growth cypress wood was easily worked, very
valuable, and resistant to rot. Cypress wood was widely used in
building homes and other structures throughout south Louisiana, and
its durability is one of the reasons that south Louisiana retains much of
its distinctive early architecture among its homes, churches, and
cultural centers.
The vast majority of cypress logging activity occurred between 1889
and 1930, with millions of swamp acres yielding hundreds of millions af
harvested board feet for construction Logging was difficult, but
loggers were very effective at clearing vast areas of Louisiana swamp
land. Many of the swamps now visible in south Louisiana are
composed of smaller trees that regenerated after peak logging years.Throughout Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge you can see
remnants of cypress swamps that existed here Logged long ago, all
that remains of the original forest in many cases today are stumps and
rotting cypress knees, which are part of the root and support structure
of the tree, Remnant trees are also sometimes found, but they are
almost always hollow, offering strong evidence for why they escaped
the saw over a century ago.

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Swamps on the Cusp of Change
Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche
Murphy James Foster
Franklin's Historic Lampposts
Edward V. Loustalot
St. Mary Parish Courthouse War Memorial, a War Memorial
St. Mary Parish Confederate Soldiers Monument, a War Memorial
Battle Of Irish Bend
The Gunboat Diana

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