Illegally Cut Cypress
Fuels Mulch Industry
Clear-cutting of cypress forest for garden mulch destroys vital wetlands that stabilize Louisiana’s coast against the impacts of hurricanes. At a time when Louisiana is asking the nation to invest billions to save its coastline, it is allowing cypress forests to be ground into bags of mulch that are cleverly marketed at garden supply stores.
Ancient bald cypress once covered much of southern
Louisiana, towering 120 feet tall and holding the old growth forest in
perpetual darkness. At the turn of the 20th century cypress logging was
one of the biggest industries in the state. And by the 1920’s there
were no significant cypress stands left and the industry disappeared.
Much of the majestic delta forest did not regenerate.
Where cypress did grow back, the forest’s biodiversity and productivity
is amazing. The Atchafalaya Basin is home to 300 species of birds and
is visited by 40 percent of the migratory birds in North America. The
area also boasts a rich cultural heritage – this is Cajun country.
Today’s cypress are 100-years-old on average, still too small for
timber. It would take up to a hundred more years for the trees to reach
lumber harvesting size in the Atchafalaya Basin. It would take several
hundred years for them to grow to their former size. Cypress mulch allows
landowners to cash in their cypress now, but this means the end
for the
cypress forest.
Gone Forever
A scientific panel convened by the Governor estimated that 70 to 80 percent
of Louisiana’s cypress forest will never grow back if cut – even
if artificially planted – because of changed water levels, invasive
species and other stresses.
Florida to Louisiana
The cypress mulch industry is moving to Louisiana as it exhausts Florida’s
cypress swamps and as the public there catches on – some Florida
municipalities have even banned cypress mulch. Cypress swamps along the
entire southern U.S. coast are at risk from this industry.
Certified Sustainable?
There is no credible system of environmental certification for wood products
in Louisiana. Nothing prevents producers from slapping an ‘environmentally
friendly’ message on their bag and claiming the sustainability
of their product. While cypress was historically cut for lumber, and
mulch collected as a byproduct, today whole cypress trees are ground
up into garden mulch.
Illegal Logging
Much of the logging of cypress in Louisiana is illegal. Loggers claim
they do not need a Clean Water Act permit to cut because their activities
are “normal silviculture activity” – logging that ensures
the trees will grow back. But up to 80 percent of Louisiana forest will
never grow back. The Atchafalaya Basinkeeper has documented and reported
numerous clear-cutting operations of high-risk cypress stands. U.S. EPA
is not enforcing the law.
On the other hand, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is enforcing a section
of the River and Harbors Act that protects wetland forest. But members
of the Louisiana Congressional delegation are applying enormous pressure
to stop the Corps from enforcing the law. U.S. Congressmen Billy Tauzin
and Richard Baker sent a letter to the Commander of the Army Corps of
Engineers in an attempt to pressure the New Orleans District, to reverse
his decisions to enforce the law. Waterkeeper Alliance commends the Army
Corps in New Orleans for standing tall against attempts to prevent it
from doing its job.
Senator David Vitter proposed an amendment to change the law and take
away the Corps’ ability to regulate logging of critical wetlands,
swamps and bottomland hardwoods. Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, in coalition
with others, rallied support to defeat the rider.
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Has Made Progress, Needs Your Help to Stop Cypress
Logging
With the growing recognition of this enormous threat, Louisiana groups
are organizing their efforts to stop cypress logging. Basinkeeper patrols
have halted the illegal clearing of thousands of acres of cypress forest
and forced timber interests into increasingly desperate means to circumvent
the law.
But a national effort is needed to close this market. Gardeners and retailers
must understand how their decisions are connected to the destruction
of the coastal forest that protects Louisianans.
Expression of public outrage will impact the policies of large companies.
In 1999, after two years of protests, Home Depot adopted a policy to
eliminate wood products from endangered areas. Lowe’s and others
soon followed suit. From 2002 through 2004, a dozen large North American
companies changed their policies regarding Chilean wood in response to
a public campaign led by ForestEthics.
It’s time to stop mulching our natural heritage.
Join Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance to stop the trade in our endangered cypress forest. Visit www.waterkeeper.org for more information.
ancient
forest
An extensive levee system in the Atchafalaya basin keeps water levels high, preventing cypress seeds from germinating and slowing the growth of existing trees.
