Esler Field Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in parts of Rapides and Grant parishes in the state of Louisiana.

Name

The Louisiana Army National Guard (LANG) announced in March 2023 that Camp Beauregard would be renamed as Louisiana National Guard Training Center-Pineville. The WMA was renamed Esler Field Wildlife Management Area.

Location

The WMA is located approximately northeast of Alexandria with access from LA 116 and US-165.

Wildlife management

The primary use is for the National Guard training facility. There are many areas marked with DO NOT ENTER signs as either the area may be an impact area (when Compartment I & J are closed) or "off limits" at all times marked with "Danger: Unexploded Ordinance Area". The Louisiana Army National Guard signed a Management Agreement with the Nature Conservancy in 1996 covering as part of the Lower West Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion.

Permits

WMA Access Permits are required on any lands administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This includes not only wildlife management areas but

wildlife refuges A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, wildlife conservation areas (WCAs), and LDWF shooting ranges and education facilities. Any person using LDWF administered lands must use a Self-Clearing Permit either from a self-Clearing Permit Station or by checking in and out electronically through the LDWF Self-Clearing Permit app or on an internet Web portal.

Flora

The upland overstory is primarily

pine plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

. In the creek bottoms the overstory is predominantly Water oak, post oak,

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

, red oak and

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae ...

. Approximately of the Flagon Creek bottom floods. The primary overstory in this area is

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

overcup oak ''Quercus lyrata'', the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''). The common name, overcup oak, refers to its acorns that are mostly enclosed within the acorn cup. It is native to lowland wetlands in the east ...

and

bitter pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgi ...

. When the understory is good it consists of French mulberry, blackberry, greenbrier, yaupon,

trumpet creeper ''Campsis radicans'', the trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper (also known in North America as cow itch vine or hummingbird vine), is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to the eastern United States, ...

, and rattan. In the creek bottom the common understory is swamp privet, water elm, mayhaw, and swamp snowbell.

References

External links

"Esler field"
(LDWF) {{Protected Areas of Louisiana Wildlife management areas of Louisiana Protected areas of Rapides Parish, Louisiana Protected areas of Grant Parish, Louisiana