Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area

The WMA is situated on the lower Mississippi River, starting at the Head of Passes, including an extreme northern portion of the Southwest Pass, all of the South Pass, and Pass a Loutre,[1] in the Plaquemines-Balize delta lobe of the Mississippi River Delta Basin.[2]

The WMA is a combination of low marsh, tidal marsh, mudflats, and salt marsh, covering three of the five main types of wetlands. According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Pass A Loutre State Wildlife Management Area would have a Southern Cordgrass, aka Spartina (78) vegetation type and a Coastal Prairie, aka Western Gulf coastal grasslands (20) vegetation form.[3]

The Pass a Loutre WMA, within the Mississippi Delta, sometimes referred to as "The Birds Foot",[4][5] has a diverse range of wildlife including whitetail deer and rabbit, fur bearing animals and alligators, and indigenous as well as migratory birds and waterfowl that includes game species.

Pass a Loutre is the final destination of the Mississippi Flyway bird migration route for many species.[8] About 40% of all migratory birds use this route including American goldfinch, American tree sparrow, Baltimore oriole, black-capped chickadee, blue grosbeak, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, Bullock's oriole, chipping sparrow, common grackle, common redpoll, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, evening grosbeak, field sparrow, hairy woodpecker, house finch, indigo bunting, northern cardinal, northern flicker, orchard oriole, pileated woodpecker, pine grosbeak, pine siskin, purple finch, red-bellied woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch, red-winged blackbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-throated hummingbird, tufted titmouse, and the white-breasted nuthatch.[9]

The Audubon Society priority species are the American oystercatcher, black skimmer, brown pelican, clapper rail, least tern, little blue heron, mottled duck, piping plover, reddish egret, red knot, ruddy turnstone, sanderling, seaside sparrow, short-billed dowitcher, snowy plover, western sandpiper, and Wilson's plover.

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pass A Loutre State Wildlife Management Area has a Humid subtropical climate (‘’Cfa’’). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the Plant Hardiness zone at Sawdust Bend Bayou is 9b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 28.8 °F (-1.8 °C).[10]

Starting July 1, 1993, a Wild Louisiana Stamp, hunting license, or fishing license is required to use any Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries administered land. This includes wildlife refuges, wildlife management area, and habitat conservation areas. Any person under sixteen or sixty and over are exempt from this requirement.[12]

There have been many wetland enhancement programs in the WMA. Sixteen small-scale sediment diversions (crevasses), have been completed since 1986, as well as sediment retention measures.[13]

• List of Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas

• Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries and map
• Lighthousefriends.com