– A large bald cypress tree along the walkway behind the African-American Museum has been certified to have been alive during the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 as part of the Sierra Club’s Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy Project.
Sierra Club Delta Chapter member Harvey Stern measured the tree, which has a diameter of about 17 feet, and took a core sample of the tree to count tree rings to certify it as part of the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy Project, St. Martinville Culture and Tourism Director Michelle Broussard told the St. Martinville City Council at its Oct. 19 meeting.
“He was able to tell us that this tree has been here since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803,” Broussard said. “So he provided us with a plaque and our tree is now registered. So I wanted to let everybody know that. When you’re walking on the boardwalk you can go and check out the plaque. I’m excited to have that here.”
Broussard said the exact age of the tree has not yet been determined from the core sample but the tree was determined to be at least 215 years old.
According to the Sierra Club website, the Cypress Legacy Initiative documents the precise location of the certified tree through GPS coordinates. The group then marks the land near the tree with a plaque designating that the tree is a “Louisiana Purchase and Louisiana Bicentennial Tree” of over 215 years of age.
The specimen is then entered in the official state registry of “Louisiana Purchase and Louisiana Bicentennial Trees.”
TWO CENTURIES OLD – St. Martinville Culture and Tourism Director Michelle Broussard stands near a large bald cypress tree located along the boardwalk overlooking Bayou Teche behind the African-American Museum. The tree has been certified by The Sierra Club as a ‘Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy Tree,’ meaning the tree was live at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The tree’s location has been noted by GPS coordinates for inclusion in the project. (Chris Landry)
In addition to cataloging the state’s oldest cypress trees, the group also said on its website that it hopes to promote conservation of old growth habitat by encouraging wetland and habitat stewardship, supporting ecotourism visits to view Louisiana Purchase and Louisiana Bicentennial Trees, and educating the public about the role of cypress in Louisiana history, such as logging, construction and the building of New Orleans, as well as the ecological issues and challenges facing old growth habitat, such as from logging for cypress mulch.
