WHEREAS, as the Lower Coast of Algiers and the Belle Chasse areas expand, it is prudent to plan for recreational opportunities and the preservation of the ecosystem of wetlands and greenspace; and
WHEREAS, wildlife species decline rapidly when trapped between “islands” of development; and
WHEREAS, the preservation of low-lying open space serves as a natural “sponge” for stormwater runoff; and
WHEREAS, Orleans Parish has set aside 132-acres of wild magnolia forest as English Turn Wilderness Park; and
WHEREAS, Plaquemines Parish has set aside 609-acres as Woodlands Trail and Park Bird Sanctuary; and
WHEREAS, Woodlands Trail and Park was formed as a nonprofit organization in 2001 to unite the river communities of Orleans and Plaquemines Parish with a series of educational, recreational and historical greenways and trails in one of our regions’ last stands of bottomland hardwoods; and
WHEREAS, proactive plans to connect contiguous corridors of low-lying greenspace not only serve to protect habitat for wildlife but encourages development to occur on higher grounds; and
WHEREAS, Woodlands Trail and Park has been included in the City of New Orleans Master Plans for Transportation, Recreation and Open Space, Riverfront Vision 2005 and included in the United New Orleans Plan for District 13; and
WHEREAS, during America’s Wetlands Month, May, 2006, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and the New Orleans City Council proclaimed support of Woodlands Trail and Park in its implementation of conservation efforts that will protect and improve the environment for the future well-being of our children and the wildlife we treasure; and
WHEREAS, with the exception of one parcel of low-lying wetland area in Orleans Parish, there is a contiguous corridor of public and quasi-public land that forms a vital habitat corridor within one of Southeastern Louisiana’s last stands of bottomland hardwoods in the peninsula formed by Orleans and Plaquemines Parish.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Louisiana Wildlife Federation supports the preservation of the last remaining low-lying land between English Turn Golf Course and English Turn Wilderness Park and urges the New Orleans City Planning Commission to zone this tract as Parks and Openspace.
Adopted by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in convention assembled, February 28, 2010 at Cypress Bend Resort, Many, Louisiana