• Image of swamp, bayou, and marsh

    Jean Lafitte

    National Historical Park and Preserve Louisiana

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  • Some Park Sites Closed May 17-18

    Staff from throughout the park will be at the Barataria Preserve for BioBlitz May 17-18 (you're invited too!). See how this will effect operations at other sites and learn more about BioBlitz by following the link. More »

Public Involvement

Bayou winds through a green marsh with trees on the horizon

Creating healthy wetland areas like this is the goal of the canal reclamation project at the Barataria Preserve.

The National Park Service is committed to involving the public in its decisions on managing park resources. Links to any current public discussions are shown on this page.

You can also become part of the Jean Lafitte team by volunteering at the park.

A project to reclaim more than 20 miles of canals at the Barataria Preserve began in late spring 2010. Canals will be backfilled depending on funding availability, and the majority of the project remains unfunded. The environmentally sound methods used to fill the canals will work slowly and most will remain open for decades. Special care will be taken with regularly used canals so that users will continue to have access. For an overview of the project and the challenges of managing wetland areas, click here. For indepth information, visit the project page.

In summer 2010, Jean Lafitte was included in the National System of Marine Protected Areas (MPA). The system

  • helps protect American marine resources by providing new opportunities for regional and national cooperation
  • supports the local and national economy by helping to sustain fisheries and maintain healthy marine ecosystems for tourism and recreation
  • promotes public participation in MPA decision-making

Inclusion in the MPA system will not change the way the park is currently managed. Fishing, hunting, and trapping will still be allowed in the Barataria Preserve.

Being part of the MPA system will benefit Jean Lafitte by emphasizing its role in Louisiana's valuable coastal ecosystems. It will also help to provide for enhanced stewardship of park resources and new partnerships among federal, state, and MPA sites. Southeast Louisiana sites already in the MPA include Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, and Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

Did You Know?

Two big red, black, and yellow lubber grasshoppers sit on a leaf

Lubber grasshoppers are sometimes known as devil's horses in south Louisiana. They lay their eggs in the fall and prefer loose dirt, so they often lay their eggs in cemeteries. These enormous flightless grasshoppers hatch in spring and spend the summer munching their way through vegetation.