Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge Ridge Trail Nature Walks Celebrating Birds.

January 25, 2024

The US Fish & Wildlife Staff will be holding a twice-a-month event at the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge Ridge Trail boardwalk: Nature Walks Celebrating Birds!

The event will be held on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month.

These FREE Nature Walks/Programs meet at the Ridge Trail picnic pavilion by the entrance to the 2/3-mile-long looped interpretive boardwalk trail that winds through a forest and wetland area. Restrooms are available.

First and third Saturdays of the month. Binoculars are available to borrow for all programs.

Songbird Saturday: Feb. 3rd, March 16th, May 4th, 9 AM - 10:30 AM

3-D Bird Walk Saturday, Feb. 17th, April 6th, May 18th , 8 AM – 9:30 AM

Birding 101 Gadgets and Gear Saturday: March 2nd, and April 20th, 8 AM – 9:30 AM

Relax at the Ridge Trail and get to know the local songbirds. Discover what you can see and hear when you sit still and observe your surroundings. Feel free to bring a towel or cushion to sit on.

Here are the directions to the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge:

From Slidell: Take I-10 west. At the end of the I-10 twin-span bridge over Lake Ponchartrain, take the Hwy 11/Irish Bayou exit. Turn left onto Highway 11. (The Refuge is on both sides of Highway 11 once you pass through the hurricane protection levee). At the Hwy 11 and Hwy 90/Chef Menteur Hwy intersection, turn right and travel two miles to reach the Ridge Trail entrance on the right.

From New Orleans: Take I-10 east to exit 246A (Chalmette, I-510); go about 2 miles south on I-510 to Highway 90 East exit; turn left onto Hwy 90, and go approximately 4 miles to reach the Ridge Trail access on the left.

Contact Refuge Ranger Jo Anne Dolan for if you have any questions: joanne_dolan@fws.gov

Friends Website is Updated!

January 20, 2024

We'd like to thank our Website and Facebook committee members for their recent work to update our website, including changing some of the design. It's been a few years since we updated it, so it was a lot of work. Thank you!

Here's a link to the home page: https://www.flwr.org/

You can access each page of the website by clicking on the page links found on the menu bar within the header of the page while viewing on a computer and by the menu icon on your cell phone.

Even though the work is finished for now, it really isn't ever totally completed, as updates will need to be done regularly. We appreciate our committee member volunteers for the work they have done and will be doing in the future.

Enjoy!

Visitors Center is Open Thursday - Saturday each week.

January 24, 2024

The Southeast Louisiana Refuges Visitor's Center and grounds - with its museum, wildlife exhibits, hiking trail, pollinator plant garden and the Friends of Louisiana Wildlife Refuges' gift shop is open from 9 AM until 4 PM every Thursday through Saturday. It is located at the refuge headquarters complex located at 61389 LA-434, Lacombe, LA 70445.

You can find more information and photos here: https://www.flwr.org/bayou-lacombe-visitor-center

If you'd like to have a morning or full-day adventure that starts or ends with a visit to the Visitors Center, information on the nearby Boy Scout Road boardwalk and trail in the Big Branch refuge can be found HERE.

The refuge staff is looking for more enthusiastic volunteers to join their Visitor Center & Museum Volunteer Team at the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center.

Do you like talking to people and sharing the wonders of South Louisiana and its plants and wildlife? Volunteer are needed like this to join the Visitor Center team to help hold it open! The Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center of the Southeast Louisiana Refuges Complex Headquarters is located on a beautiful, historic property at 61389 LA-434, Lacombe, LA.

YOUR help is needed. Join the team to help greet visitors and share information about the nine National Wildlife Refuges in Southeast Louisiana. The refuge staff will give you all of the training and information you need to do the job. To learn more please contact Visitor Center Volunteer Coordinator, Refuge Ranger Becky Larkins at 985-882-2021 or email her at rebecca_larkins@fws.gov