On October 15, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hosted the 19th Annual Wild Things Festival at the Southeast Louisiana Refuge Headquarters in Lacombe, La. This exciting family-friendly event gives the community an opportunity to engage in outdoor activities while celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week. This free public event included canoe and pontoon boat tours, hayrides, live animals, wildflower walks, kids activities, bird house building, live music, and a youth wildlife art competition.
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act Public Outreach staff was among the 40 exhibitors providing hands-on activities to encourage knowledge of the Louisiana outdoors. In order to accurately portray the importance of aquatic, coastal regions, the CWPPRA staff utilized an ocean character, Sid the Restoration Squid, whose six unique legs each represented a different restoration method. The six restoration methods include barrier island restorations, marsh creations, shoreline protection, hydrologic restoration, freshwater and sediment diversions, and terracing. Each leg consisted of a distinct craft material that would correspond with a restoration method, in which children would assemble and personalize their own squid. Each child’s personal squid was accompanied by an explanation guide of CWPPRA’s efforts to restore, protect, and/or create Louisiana’s wetlands.
Louisiana’s coastal landscape is known to contain vast beauty and uniqueness commonly seen through native Louisiana species, one being the Louisiana iris. Five of the many Louisiana native iris species gained the title of “Louisianans” due to Louisiana being the only location where they all occur together, with ranges along the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Texas. The five “Louisianans” include: Iris brevicaulis, Iris fulva, Iris giganticaerulea, Iris hexagona and Iris nelsonii. The Louisiana iris is designated as the state wildflower.
CWPPRA 