More Irises Added to Lockport, La. Boardwalk

December 24, 2021 Lockport, La.

LICI volunteers added more irises to their on-going multi-year iris restoration project at the town of Lockport, La.'s Elevated Wetlands Boardwalk yesterday, December 23, 2021. It was their last planting at the boardwalk for this iris planting season. It was the sixth time LICI volunteers have been out to the boardwalk planting irises since the project began in late 2020. The group worked hard and planted an estimated 375 irises.

The volunteers are shown beginning work planting irises at the town of Lockport's Elevated Wetlands Boardwalk on December 23rd.

The irises that were planted were the I. giganticaerulea species of the Louisiana iris that came from an iris rescue event held the week before.

Newly planted irises on December 23rd.

Its estimated that there may be as many as 1,400 irises that LICI volunteers have planted at the boardwalk over the last year, including the irises planted yesterday. Irises from the earliest plantings are multiplying and are doing great.

"We'd like to once again thank the landowner, Hugh Caffery, for granting us permission to plant the irises. We also like to thank Lafourche Parish Councilman, Armand Autin, and the Lafourche Parish government employees who assisted with the coordination of this project. All were excited to have the irises added to the boardwalk area and are encouraging us to continue the plantings, " LICI's Gary Salathe summed up.

Four of the five volunteers at the Lockport, La. iris planting on 12-23-20201 are shown in this photo; (Left to Right) Scott Schexnaydre, Mike Glaspell, Gary Salathe and Connie Adams. Henry Cancienne helped out by keeping the volunteers supplied with irises from the boardwalk.

LICI Helps to Cleanup Nature Conservancy's Grilletta Tract and Plants More Irises

December 17, 2021 Grand Isle, La.

The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) participated in an event organized by the Nature Conservancy to help clean-up Hurricane Ida storm debris from their Grilletta Tract of the Lafitte Woods Preserve. In addition, LICI's volunteers planted another 400 Louisiana irises in the freshwater bog located on the property while they were there.

The Nature Conservancy's Grilletta Tract is part of their Lafitte Woods, which is 35 acres live oak tree groves on Grand Isle. The Lafitte Woods is the last remnant of the live oak tree groves that of what once covered the entire island.

The Nature Conservancy's Lafitte Woods is a critical habitat for birds to rest once they have migrated across the Gulf of Mexico in the spring or to rest before they start their return trip in the fall. It attracts bird watchers from around the country.

The Grilletta Tract is one parcel of land among others that make up the Lafitte Woods holdings of the Nature Conservancy in Grand Isle. It is the site of an on-going Louisiana iris restoration project started by the Grand Isle Garden Club that has been continued since 2020 by LICI.

LICI's volunteers begin work helping to cleanup Hurricane Ida storm debris at the iris bog of the Nature Conservancy's Grilletta Tract on December 17th. Many of the volunteers were residents of nearby Lafourche parish and had also received hurricane damage to their homes and properties.

Crews from other Nature Conservancy properties in south Louisiana were on-site with equipment to help clean up as LICI's volunteers worked in the bog area.

Photo: As The Nature Conservancy's crew used heavy equipment to clean off hurricane debris from the front section of the property a LICI volunteer is shown bringing some irises to the freshwater bog for planting.

Grand Isle is a barrier island on Louisiana's Gulf of Mexico coast. The Grilletta Tract is located near the center of the island. The rear of the property has frontage on the back bay of Grand Isle. The irises are planted in a bog at the center of the property where there is a short boardwalk. Hurricane Ida's storm surge put the irises growing in the freshwater bog completely underwater with full-strength Gulf of Mexico seawater.

The volunteers begin planting irises after they had removed the hurricane debris.

2020's Hurricane Zeta also flooded the bog with its saltwater storm surge. LICI's Gary Salathe says, "The only explanation we have for their survival is that the storm surge came in quickly and left just as quickly after the storm passed by. That was followed by the drainage from next door neighborhoods allowing rainwater to flow through the bog for the last two months flushing out the salt left in the soil."

The last of the Louisiana iris are shown being planted.

LICI has plans to come back at least one more time to plant an equal number of Louisiana irises in the Grilletta Tract's freshwater bog during January.

The Last Louisiana Iris Rescue for 2021

December 16, 2021 Laplace, La.

The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) completed a Louisiana iris rescue using volunteers from the University of Alabama - Huntsville yesterday, Wednesday, December 15th. Common Ground Relief, a New Orleans non-profit, is hosting the students for a week of service activities in the area. LICI volunteers from Lafourche Parish also participated in the iris rescue. Other LICI volunteers clean up the irises and put them into short-term storage at the LICI iris holding area in New Orleans that afternoon.

Charlotte Clarke, Executive Director of Common Ground Relief is seen giving the opening remarks to the volunteers.

Some of the irises we be planted at the Lockport, La. Wetlands Elevated Boardwalk within the next couple of weeks. Other locations where the irises will be planted are the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans and at the Nature Conservancy's Gilletta Tract in the Lafitte Woods Nature Preserve on Grand Isle, La.

The volunteers begin work digging up irises.

The group rescued approximately 1,500 I. giganticaerulea species of the Louisiana iris that were growing on a property, which is located west of New Orleans, is zoned for commercial development and is for sale. The owner has encouraged LICI to get the irises relocated. LICI is also working with the lease-holder of this portion of the property who has a fireworks stand on-site to get irises out of areas where he will be expanding his parking area.

Natalie "Chip" Stone, Volunteer Relations Coordinator with the international non-profit All Hands and Hearts, is shown helping sort through the irises. Natalie is interested in her group working with LICI on iris restoration projects. She took the opportunity of the iris rescue being close to her local headquarters for their Hurricane Ida relief work to come out and meet the group and see one of LICI's projects in progress. She ended up spending the entire morning helping out.

Since the irises that were rescued are in the growth mode for the winter they can be planted directly back into the swamp in one of LICI's iris restoration project, instead of spending time strengthening up at their iris holding area.

"This was the first out-of-state college student volunteer event we have done with Common Ground Relief since the pandemic started in early 2020. I have to say, it felt really good to be back in the game with volunteers like this!" said Gary Salathe, organizer of the event for LICI.

The volunteers that participated in the December 15, 2021 iris rescue.