When I fly into or out of New Orleans at dusk, I anticipate we may launch northward so I try to get a window seat on the side of the plane that faces west. If the sun is low enough to glance off the marshes and swamps along the edge of Lake Pontchartrain, I am occasionally treated to a most remarkable view – the sun-reflected form in the swamp forests of a radiating outline that looks like a wagon wheel. In the heyday of cypress logging, a pull-boat was located in an opening in the swamp. The crew chopped trees that were then dragged down straight, cleared lanes to the boat that was either loaded with logs or served as a small sawmill.
The passing of this era left our state with a wetland landscape that is dotted with cypress stumps and open marsh containing a sparse, struggling population of relatively small cypress trees. One would think the cypress industry is dead in Louisiana. Several human generations later, dense natural stands of cypress are again appearing in some remote areas. Total acreage is nowhere near that of the 1800s. Our state once again permits the logging of Louisiana’s cypress forests. At the same time, we are lobbying Washington to send money to protect our eroding wetlands. Congress sees this as a non sequitur.
The recent excellent series “Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast” by Bob Marshall and Mark Schleifstein of The Times-Picayune was the journalistic tipping point that may spur focused attention to saving America’s WETLAND – our nation’s valuable, largely irreplaceable, coastal wetlands in Louisiana. The rhetorical style of the series made it abundantly clear the clock is ticking for this crucially important ecosystem.
The series discussed the opinions of numerous experts from a variety of disciplines that they have mistakenly underestimated the lifespan of the continental U.S.’s most extensive coastal wetlands ecosystem.
The message: 10 years may take us beyond the point of no return.
It has been shown that every 2.7 miles of healthy coastal marsh reduces a tidal surge by one foot. Wooded wetlands are much, much more effective, thus far more valuable to our citizens and communities.
I remember back in the 1980s there were lumbering companies that mulched limbs and bark left over from production of lumber. Mulching must be lucrative, since it is now a huge market.
The primary purposes of using mulch in your garden are to conserve moisture and inhibit weed growth. Besides cypress, there are many common types of mulch: pine bark, pine straw, other mulched barks, compost, paper, etc.
It is interesting to ask nurseries why they sell cypress mulch. The quick answer is usually the mulch is insect resistant. Some will say, “It’s a local product, and we like to support the local economy.” Are they correct?
The first argument is that everyone knows cypress resists insects, so cypress mulch will last forever, especially in our termite infested community. The problem with this argument is the agent that makes cypress insect resistant is an aromatic resin called cypressene. I understand cypressene doesn’t set in the wood until the tree is about 80 years old. Most of today’s harvest uses younger trees, thus the materials rot rather quickly.
So, at least we are left with the local economy argument. Maybe not. Most of the land where the logging occurs is owned by non-Louisianans, and the logging companies are virtually all from out-of-state, including their employees. We are dismantling our coastal protection without any local economic benefits.
If you share these stories with management, you get one of three responses. One shared with me recently by a friend who owns a local feed store: “But our customers like it so much. It’s a great seller.”
A second is getting a lecture about it being a sustainable product. “In Florida, where I buy my product, they are growing cypress faster than they are harvesting it.” We’re not talking about Southern Yellow Pine. Silviculture of cypress is very complex. Why do you think Florida companies are in Louisiana cutting our trees? It is primarily because Florida outlawed the practice. The third response is the quick back-away while mumbling something about having to take a phone call.
Those of us who advocate protecting Louisiana’s band of cypress forests understand and respect private ownership. If the swamp forests belong to individuals or private entities, and we accept their value to society, then the owners should not be expected to bear the total cost.
Instead of allowing the wholesale removal of these valuable forests, we should take advantage of this opportunity to develop new incentives that reward ownership as well as the forest’s service to society.
In the meantime, it is essential that we declare a moratorium on cutting our cypress, and that we stop the demand for the product by informing citizens about the issue and suggesting alternatives that 1) mulch their plants and 2) replace the revenue stream for businesses. The best answer today is pine needles. They are abundant and cheap, but have a good profit margin for the seller.
Act now, or lose another part of our future.
Robert Thomas is interim director of the School of Mass Communication.
