Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve ⓘ

The six sites of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve represent a treasure trove of south Louisiana's historical and cultural riches. People from nearly every country, ethnic group, language, and religion have come to the lower Mississippi River delta and left traces of their passing.

As author William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." In south Louisiana, the places where history happened are around every corner and down every bayou, and the well-worn skills and traditions of previous generations are revered at the same time they're adapted for life in a new century.

The administrative history for Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve includes an overview of the geography, history, and people of the area, the history of each park site and how it became part of the park, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and the challenges of managing the park which contains such a variety of sites and themes.

South Louisiana is known for alligators, Spanish moss, and live oak trees, but it is also home to armadillos, otters, and hundreds of species of birds. The Barataria Preserve south of New Orleans is the park's wildest site with more than 23,000 acres of swamp, marsh, trails, and waterways, a living laboratory of Louisiana's endangered wetlands.

The natural world is never far away at any site, however. Chalmette Battlefield provides a resting place for birds traveling along the Mississippi River flyway. Bayous meander behind the Acadian Cultural Center and the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center . At the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center , open farmland surrounds the site. Butterflies migrate over the French Quarter Visitor Center .

The virtual museums of the National Park Service offer online visits to parks and information about nature, science, history, and more.

Natural Resource Reports - summaries and full text articles for many of the park's natural resource reports are available on the National Park Service Gulf Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network website . For more information on a particular report, e-mail the park.

What we know about Jean Lafitte's Barataria Preserve was vastly increased by BioBlitz 2013, a partnership between the National Park Service and National Geographic that teamed up scientists with over 3,000 students on school field trips, families, and people interested in science and nature. During a 24-hour blitz through bayous, swamp, forest, and marsh, the investigators found and identified hundreds of species of plants and animals.

Take a moment to escape and explore a magical place. Be astonished at the beauty that is south Louisiana. Learn a little about our neighbors. Join Ranger Allyn and Volunteer Rose on a cruise through the amazing waterways of the Atchafalaya Basin and discover some incredible stories that await you!

Ranger Allyn and Volunteer Rose take you down a winding river path and meet with amazing animals in the Atchafalaya Basin of South Louisiana.

Alligators are visitors from another time, out of place in our modern, urban lives. Yet they exist. Observing an alligator seems like watching a statue. They lay still for hours moving only to breath and blink, and then when spotting prey, suddenly lunge forward at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour. Not at all normal behavior, unless you are North America’s largest reptile, Alligator mississippiensis .

Table 1. Current inventory of amphibians at the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Data collected from 2001 to 2002 are compared to prior inventories by Smalley (1982), Rossman and Demastes (1989), and observations by National Park Service (NPS) employees and Muth (1991). Except as noted, all scientific and common names follows NPSpecies (version 2.0).

The following species have only occasionally been recorded in the preserve. They are common, or at least regular, at some season elsewhere in southeast Louisiana, but their occurrence in the preserve is limited by a lack of appropriate habitat, or by the infrequent and irruptive nature of their migrations (IR):

This species list was generated from data collected through NPS observations and a 2003-2005 fish inventory conducted by Dr. David Schultz, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Coyote-like wild canids recently invaded the Preserve. It is probable that these are actually Coyote/Red wolf hybrids.

A long, glossy snake with a uniformly black to gray body up to 75 inches in length; belly bluish gray, black stripe behind the eye. young individuals have a series of dark mid-body blotches on a gray body. Found in bottomland hardwoods and cypress swamps. They are largely confined to areas of high ground.

Animals living in south Louisiana are as distinctive as the habitat they live in. The Barataria Preserve is a great place to spot all kinds of Louisiana critters. Remember that where you are and the time of day is key to what birds and animals you will probably see. During the day, nine-banded armadillos and eastern grey squirrels can be seen foraging next to the trails. In the marsh, swamp rabbits, minks, and the introduced nutria munch away. While many large mammals are secretive and nocturnal, you may be able to catch a glimpse of a coyote or a white-tailed deer. There are several species of bats known to inhabit the park and feed on its abundant insects. The Barataria Preserve is literally crawling with reptiles and amphibians. Tree frogs, green anoles, and water snakes are often seen. The species that attracts the most attention is the American alligator. Thirty years of protection and management have allowed alligator populations to thrive and they can often be seen sunning themselves along waterway banks or partially submerged in the water. Located squarely along the Mississippi Flyway, this is a birder's paradise. Over 200 species of birds use the preserve's waterways and vegetation for foraging, nesting, and resting. Look for many different species of heron, egret, and ibis wading along canal banks or slowly eating their way through the swamps. Songbirds are easily heard and less often seen in the forests, including colorful examples such as the prothonotary warbler and the painted bunting. Look below for the preserve bird checklist. Have an adventure on a Louisiana birding trail . For the latest in bird news for the New Orleans area, check out University of New Orleans ornithologist Dr. Peter Yauckey's Birding Made Easy New Orleans blog. Check out sightings at the Barataria Preserve and Chalmette Battlefield at the eBird link below and add your own observations. Fish, crabs, and other aquatic organisms are plentiful but can be more difficult to see---try looking straight down into the water from a bridge or deck! The Barataria Preserve lies in the ecologically significant Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary, fertile waters where rivers and bayous meet the sea. These waters provide important nursery grounds for shell and fin fish including blue crabs, shrimp, speckled trout, and gar fish.

Join us for an Atchafalaya Adventure, all from the comfort of your couch!

“If you don't bother the snake, the snake won't bother you;” is an old saying, but is quite true. Taking some simple precautions in the Preserve will minimize problems and enable you to safely enjoy the Preserve's trails. Wear proper footwear, remain on marked trails, and above all, look before you sit, step or reach. All snakes are protected. It is unlawful to handle or molest snakes in the Preserve. Snakes should not be captured: they are relatively delicate and internal injuries can result from improper handling. Besides, most bites occur during capture and handling. Twenty-two species of snakes have been seen in the Preserve. Of these, only two species are venomous. Most of the snakes you see along the trails will be one of the twenty species of harmless, non-venomous snakes. Of these, four species of water snakes, the Ribbon Snake and the Black-Masked Racer are by far the most commonly encountered snakes in the Park.