Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge

This is the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge home page. It is accessible from all the pages in the Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Refuges Complex web site in the menu on the left.

Photo of a snowy egret standing on a log

There are eight National Wildlife Refuges in the SELA Refuges Complex. The mission of these refuges and the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

Each of the programs in the SELA Refuges Complex also has a page. Each of the programs is accessible from all the pages in the SELA Refuges Complex web site in a menu on the left side or near the bottom of the page.

Contact information for all the refuges can be found on the Contact Us page.

Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990. It's 23,000 acres of fresh and brackish marshes, all within the city limits of New Orleans, make it the nation's largest urban wildlife refuge. Bayou Sauvage is only 15 minutes from the French Quarter. Most of the refuge is inside massive hurricane protection levees, built to hold back storm surges and maintain water levels in the low-lying city.

An enormous wading bird rookery can be found in the swamps of the refuge from May until July, while tens of thousands of waterfowl winter in its bountiful marshes.

Directions to the Refuge: From Slidell: Take I-10 west; take Irish Bayou exit #254; turn left onto Highway 11, go 6 miles to Highway 90; turn right and go approximately 2 miles.

From New Orleans: Take I-10 east to exit #246A (Chalmette, I-510); go about 2 miles on I-510 to Highway 90 east exit; turn left and go approximately 4 miles.

Photo of hundreds of egrets foraging for food in shallow water

Endangered and Threatened Species on the Refuge: American alligator and brown pelican.

The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is listed as an endangered species but all populations of brown pelican (Gulf Coast, California/West Coast, Caribbean and Latin America) were proposed for delisting in 2008. The brown pelican is a year-round resident of southeast Louisiana. The number of nesting brown pelicans has substantially increased despite loss of nesting habitat. Brown pelicans are frequent users of the refuge.

The American alligator was de-listed as an endangered species in 1987 but remains listed as threatened due to similarity in appearance to the endangered American crocodile.

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was de-listed as a threatened species in 2007. Several bald eagles visit the refuge each year.

Other Wildlife Species: Waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, marsh rabbits, white pelicans and other raptors, game and small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Habitat Description: The refuge contains a variety of different habitats, including freshwater and brackish marshes, bottomland hardwood forests, lagoons, canals, borrow pits, chenieres (former beach fronts) and natural bayous. The marshes along Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne serve as estuarine nurseries for various fish species, crabs and shrimp. Freshwater lagoons, bayous and ponds serve as production areas for largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. The diverse habitats meet the needs of 340 bird species during various seasons of the year. Peak waterfowl populations of 75,000 use the wetland areas during the fall, winter, and early spring months.

Management Goals: Habitat preservation through water and moist soil management, archaeological resource protection, cypress reforestation, endangered species management, waterfowl management, environmental education and promotion of recreational programs

Opportunities for Public Use: Bayou Sauvage NWR has enormous public use potential because: (1) it is located 16 miles from downtown New Orleans; (2) over one million people live within 10 miles of the refuge; (3) there is access to the refuge via three major highways; (4) the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway traverses the refuge. Environmental education, bird watching, fishing, hiking, wildlife observation, photography and canoeing. There is no public hunting on the refuge.

Environmental Education: Environmental education programs on the refuge will resume in September 2008. For more information see our Environmental Education page.

Photo of a sunflower that emerged from the mud following Hurricane Katrina

Events: We sponsor and support several events at the SELA Refuges Complex throughout the year. The most significant event is "Wild Things" which is held at the Refuge Complex Headquarters (Bayou Lacombe Centre) in Lacombe , Louisiana. The event is held every year in October on the Saturday of National Wildlife Refuge Week (the Saturday after Columbus Day.) We also support or cooperate with the Great Louisiana Bird Fest in April, International Migratory Bird Day on the second Saturday in May and National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday in September. For more information about specific events see the SELA Refuge Event Calendar.

Hurricane Damage: Hurricane Katrina damaged some of the facilities at Bayou Sauvage NWR. Most of them have been repaired or replaced.

The swamp tours have been discontinued. The Ridge Trail boardwalk was severely damaged and it was rebuilt and reopened in July, 2008. We will conduct extensive clearing and replanting near the boardwalk. The bikeway is closed until further notice.

The flooding from the hurricane allowed saltwater to enter freshwater areas of the refuge and it will take time for these areas to recover. There was also wind damage to many trees. Tree planting and marsh plantings will be conducted to help in the restoration process.

Many duck boxes have been replaced across the refuge.

Documents, maps and brochures related to the refuge can be found here.

Document Name	Description	Size
Refuge Fact Sheet	Additional information about the refuge	109k
Fishing and Public Use Regulations	Fishing regulations and a refuge map	246k
News Item: Ridge Trail Boardwalk is Re-opened	This news item describes the hurricane damage to the Ridge Trail Boardwalk, the reconstruction, re-opening and future reforestation plans	37k

Last Updated on August 18, 2008