Feliciana Preserve Natural Area

Feliciana Preserve Natural Area

Location: U.S.A., LA, West Feliciana Par., Feliciana Preserve, 30 deg 47 min N, 91 deg 15 min W.

Feliciana Preserve is a privately owned nature reserve and research area in the Tunica Hills area of southeastern Louisiana. It includes 150 acres of forested land 35 miles north of Baton Rouge owned by 3 current (Dorothy Prowell, Chris Carlton, Fred Sheldon) and 1 former (Julie Denslow) LSU scientists. The development is a model for conservation through private ownership. Four lots totaling 31 acres are designated for home sites and 119 acres are contained in a natural area protected by a conservation easement with the Louisiana Nature Conservancy. Prowell's lot has a cabin and a 1 acre pond (Fig. 1) that is a frequent site of social gatherings and field headquarters for research projects among faculty, students, and friends.

Though the property was selectively logged in 1969, the forest has regenerated into a typical mixed mesophytic hardwood forest. Forest habitat in the Feliciana Preserve includes beech, magnolia, yellow poplar and various oaks as co-dominant tree species, with mature loblolly pines that are in the process of replacement by hardwoods. Large numbers of mature trees were blown over by a tornado during spring 2000, and a localized fire affected part of the area in fall 2000. A second order stream and riparian zone is also located on the property. Several Ph.D. and M.S. projects and surveys have been conducted at Feliciana Preserve involving vascular plants, snakes (Fig. 2), moths, spiders, beetles (Fig. 3), ants, and litter insects. This area harbors disjunct populations of a number of mainly northern plant species, presumably as remnants of southerly range shifts during Pleisocene glaciation. Several recently described species of beetles (e.g., Micropsephodes lundgreni) have been discovered and additional rare or undescribed species are known to occur there (e.g., Micropeplus spp.).

Management, use, and research on the property is controlled by the Feliciana Property Owners Association, which qualifies as a privately operated foundation under section 509 (a) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. This area harbors disjunct populations of a number of mainly northern plant species, presumably as remnants of southerly range shifts during Pleisocene glaciation.

For more information about the Feliciana Preserve contact Dr. Dorothy Prowell, President, Feliciana Property Owners Association. dprowe@lsu.edu

To request a copy of the Feliciana Property Owners Association IRS Form 990-PF, contact Dr. Chris Carlton, Treasurer, Feliciana Property Owners Association. ccarlt@lsu.edu