Lake Ophelia And Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuges
High above the Lake Ophelia and Grand Cote national wildlife refuges in central Louisiana, hundreds of thousands of birds quack and honk their way from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico and back. Known as the Mississippi Flyway, this blue migratory highway in the sky services millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, blackbirds, sparrows, warblers and thrushes.
Many birds find shelter within the parks and wildlife refuges of central Louisiana. During the fall and winter, these habitats flood, thus setting the table for wintering waterfowl looking to plump up on high protein nuts and other foods. In late summer, the water recedes within open-water wetland pools, creating mudflats for migrating shorebirds.
However, over the past century, this wintering habitat has changed. Louisiana’s once lush forests and waterways have been cleared, dammed, leveed and drastically altered, leaving less habitat for our partners in flight.
Go Zero® Restores Forests And Gets Gold Validation
Go Zero donors helped plant 245,000 oak, pecan and cypress trees across 814 acres of the Lake Ophelia and Grand Cote national wildlife refuges.
In December 2010, Lake Ophelia and Grand Cote sites received gold validation and were certified by SCS Global Services. Planting and carbon monitoring services were provided by TerraCarbon LLC.
