Marsh Island Wildlife Refuge

Protected area in Louisiana, United States

Marsh Island Wildlife Management Area

Marsh Island WMA

IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Location within Louisiana

Location| St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Coordinates| 29°33′59″N 91°50′46″W﻿ / ﻿29.56639°N 91.84611°W﻿ / 29.56639; -91.84611
Area| 76,664 acres (310.25 km2)
Established| 1960 (initial)
Governing body| Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Marsh Island Refuge is located on Marsh Island, Iberia Parish, south coastal Louisiana. The island is uninhabited and managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) as a wildlife sanctuary.

## History

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Edward McIlhenny and wealthy birdwatcher/conservationist Charles Willis Ward reached out to Russell Sage's widow, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, and through the Russell Sage Foundation she purchased the then 76,664 acres (31,025 ha) Marsh Island and turned it over to the LDWF in 1960.[1]

## Location

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The island sits south of Cypremort Point State Park and north of the Gulf of Mexico. Vermilion Bay is to the northwest and Cote Blanche Bay to the northeast. Bayou Sale Bay is to the east with Burns Point Park at the end of La-317. [2] State Wildlife Refuge is to the west.[3]

## Island details

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Marsh Island is 20 miles (32 km) east to west and 11 miles (18 km) north to south. The island has many named and unnamed lakes and bayous such as Lake Hawkins, Hawkins Bayou, Lake Tom, Worm Bayou, Lake Blanc, Scat Lake, Lake Michael, Gordy Lake, Lake Sand, Oyster Lake, Oyster Branch, West Oyster Branch, and East Oyster Branch on the east side of the island. There is also South Point, Mound Point. More to the central part is Bird Island Bayou and Joe Aucoin Bayou. South of these two is a restricted area. On the western side is Lake Ferme, Long Lake, Lucien Lake, Lake Jefferson, Bayou Lucien, Bayou Platte, with a restricted area south of this, Big Charles Bayou, Little Charles Bayou, and Bayou Chene. On the western side is Lighthouse Point. There is a restricted area on the southwest side between Lighthouse Point and Oyster Lake. In the middle of this is Grosse Isle Point and Cheniere La Croix.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jerald Horst (March 1, 2024). "Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge: history and mission". Retrieved July 7, 2024.
2. ^ "Louisiana State Parks". Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Retrieved July 9, 2024.
3. ^ "Marsh Island". Google maps. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
4. ^ "Marsh Island pdf" (PDF). Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). October 28, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2024.

## External links

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Astronaut photograph of Marsh Island

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Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal|

| National Historical Parks|

* Cane River Creole
* Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve
* New Orleans Jazz

|

National Monuments|

* Poverty Point

National Marine Sanctuary|

* Flower Garden Banks

National Forests|

* Kisatchie

National wild and scenic rivers|

* Saline Bayou

National Wildlife
Refuge System|

* Atchafalaya
* Bayou Cocodrie
* Bayou Sauvage
* Bayou Teche
* Big Branch Marsh
* Black Bayou Lake
* Bogue Chitto
* Breton
* Cameron Prairie
* Cat Island
* Catahoula
* D'Arbonne
* Delta
* East Cove
* Grand Cote
* Handy Brake
* Lacassine
* Lake Ophelia
* Mandalay
* Red River
* Sabine
* Shell Keys
* Tensas River
* Upper Ouachita

State|

| State Parks|

* Bayou Segnette
* Bogue Chitto
* Chemin-A-Haut
* Chicot
* Cypremort Point
* Fairview-Riverside
* Fontainebleau
* Grand Isle
* Hodges Gardens
* Jimmie Davis
* Lake Bistineau
* Lake Bruin
* Lake Claiborne
* Lake D-Arbonne
* Lake Fausse Pointe
* North Toledo Bend
* Palmetto Island
* Poverty Point Reservoir
* St. Bernard
* Sam Houston Jones
* South Toledo Bend
* Tickfaw

|

State Historic Sites|

* Audubon
* Centenary
* Fort Jesup
* Fort Pike
* Fort St. Jean Baptiste
* Forts Randolph & Buhlow
* Locust Grove
* Longfellow-Evangeline
* Los Adaes
* Mansfield
* Plaquemine Lock
* Port Hudson
* Poverty Point
* Rebel State
* Rosedown Plantation
* Winter Quarters

State Preservation Area|

* Louisiana State Arboretum

State Forests|

* Alexander
* Indian Creek

State Wildlife Refuges|

* Elmer's Island
* Marsh Island
* Rockefeller
* St. Tammany
* State
* Terrebonne Barrier Islands
* White Lake Wetlands

Wildlife management areas|

* Acadiana Conservation Corridor
* Atchafalaya Delta
* Attakapas
* Barataria Preserve
* Bayou Macon
* Bayou Pierre
* Ben Lilly Conservation Area
* Ben's Creek
* Big Colewa Bayou
* Big Lake
* Biloxi
* Bodcau
* Boeuf
* Bonnet Carré Spillway
* Buckhorn
* Camp Beauregard
* Catahoula Lake
* Clear Creek
* Dewey Wills
* Elbow Slough
* Elm Hall
* Esler Field
* Floy Ward McElroy
* Fort Polk
* Grassy Lake
* Hutchinson Creek
* Indian Bayou
* Jackson Bienville
* J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert Wildlife Management Area
* Joyce
* Lake Boeuf
* Lake Ramsey Savannah
* Little River
* Loggy Bayou
* Manchac
* Marsh Bayou
* Maurepas Swamp
* Old River Control
* Ouachita
* Pass A Loutre
* Pearl River
* Peason Ridge
* Pointe-aux-Chenes
* Pomme de Terre
* Richard K. Yancey
* Russell Sage
* Sabine
* Sabine Island
* Salvador/Timken
* Sandy Hollow
* Sherburne (See: Atchafalaya Delta)
* Soda Lake
* Spring Bayou
* Tangipahoa Parish School Board
* Thistlethwaite
* Three Rivers
* Tunica Hills
* Union
* Walnut Hill
* West Bay

Other|

| Private|

* Bird City
* Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary

|

City|

* Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

* Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
* Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
* Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

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