Lake Martin, located in St. Martin Parish, is a

wildlife preserve 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 o ...

and one of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

's swamplands. The swamplands are home to a few trails as well as many different kinds of animals such as

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

bullfrogs ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile * American bullfr ...

, cottonmouths,

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

s, and

coypu The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

(nutria) rats. Despite its classification as a wildlife reserve, however, there have been minor problems with litter and vandalism.

Gallery

ChrisLitherlandLakeMartin.jpg Lake Martin LA USA sunset.JPG Lake Martin LA USA bird at close.JPG Lake Martin LA USA alligator.JPG Lake Martin LA USA trees.JPG Lake Martin LA USA water vegetation.JPG Lake Martin LA USA flying bird in bayou.JPG Lake Martin LA USA cypress 2.JPG Lake Martin LA USA vegetation 3.JPG Lake Martin LA USA vegetation 2.JPG Lake Martin LA USA cypress 1.JPG Lake Martin LA USA swamp vegetation 1.JPG Lake Martin LA USA swamp.JPG Lake Martin LA USA flying bird.JPG

External links

Nature Conservancy page on Lake Martin/Cypress Island
Parks in Louisiana Swamps of Louisiana {{Louisiana-geo-stub