Tensas National Wildlife Refuge
In the 1940s, tens of thousands of acres of forest in Louisiana's Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley were clear cut and converted to cotton and other crops. In 2003 we began to purchase and restore 11,000-acres of the property as an addition that connects two units of the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge into one contiguous conservation area.
We have reforested over 8,000 acres by planting 3.3 million native trees. When fully-grown these trees will sequester over 2.5 million tonnes of carbon.
As they grow, the trees will provide additional benefits beyond the reduction of greenhouse gases. The added and reforested land includes almost nine miles of Tensas River frontage and will help filter drinking water, provide habitat for native wildlife and migratory birds, and provide a wildlife corridor and habitat for the endangered Louisiana black bear.