June 4, 2024 New Orleans, LA
The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) has released its final figures for the number of views of its Google Maps 2024 Louisiana Iris View Locations map. The map was created jointly between LICI and Common Ground Relief. This was the fourth year the map was produced and made available online to the public. The final total number of times people clicked on the interactive map to view it for this season's iris bloom was 46,566. This is a new record for the number of views compared to previous years' maps, according to Gary Salathe, president of LICI.
Photo: The 2024 Louisiana Iris Viewing Locations map and rankings for each location
Photo: You can find the current count of how many times the map has been viewed at the upper left corner of the map's legend. The count as of the morning
of June 4, 2024, was 46,566.
The map ranks the very best to the almost best for each site found on the map. By clicking on each icon, you will be taken to a page of that location with information and ten photos of the site.
Not all sites are the location of one of LICI's iris restoration projects, but most are.
There may be more locations where native irises can be seen blooming that are more difficult to get to or are on private property. "Our goal is to direct the public to areas where it is safe and easy to see this treasured native Louisiana plant while they are blooming, including the state wildflower, the I. giganticaerulea species of the Louisiana iris," Salathe says. There are two locations on the map where two other species of the Louisiana iris bloomed: the I. nelsonii in Palmetto Island State Park and the I. fulva along the Lockport, LA swamp boardwalk's entrance road.
Salathe said the bloom typically lasts from the middle of March until the middle of April, with the peak bloom in the middle. However, each location can start and finish blooming at different times from the others.
Salathe says that a key part of LICI's mission is to get people out to the boardwalks and nature trails to see the native wild Louisiana irises in bloom. "They will then be exposed to and learn about the habitats the irises grow in and why it is so critical that we not only preserve these habitats but support the groups and their projects trying to restore them. We think this map has been very effective in accomplishing that goal," he said.
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