Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuge in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.
Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area covering 18,000 acres along Lake Pontchartrain with multiple habitat types. The land includes freshwater marshes, brackish marshes, cypress forests, bayous, hardwood forests, and pine savannahs.
The refuge was established in 1994 to protect natural coastline sections along Lake Pontchartrain. Its creation helped preserve habitats as surrounding communities experienced rapid residential and urban expansion.
The Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center offers regular wildlife watching programs and hands-on nature activities for guests. People come here to experience local species and learn how conservation work helps protect the region's ecosystem.
The refuge opens Thursday to Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM and offers hiking trails, fishing spots, hunting areas, and paddling routes. Plan visits during warmer months when wildlife is active and visibility is best for observation and outdoor activities.
The pine flatwoods here shelter red-cockaded woodpeckers, one of the rarest bird species in the country that requires old-growth pine forests to survive. These birds make the refuge an important stronghold for a species found nowhere else with such protection.
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