John Barry speaks at January Meeting

John Barry, author of Rising Tide will speak on "Suing Exxon" at our January 23, 2014 general meeting. Until recently he was the Vice-Chair of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East. The Authority initiated a suit against 97 oil and gas companies for damaging wetlands in the Authority tri-parish area of Saint Bernard, Orleans, and Jefferson Parishes east of the Mississippi River. Mr. Barry was recently removed from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East. The location for the program has not been determined. Check back here after December 5.

BR Sierra Club Holiday Party

December 1, 2013

Join us for the resumption of an annual tradition as we celebrate the holidays and the approaching conclusion of this year 2013 with a dinner party on Sunday evening, December 1st. 6:00pm

The home of Gwen Pine and  Steve Campo
11533 Robin Hood Dr
Baton Rouge, LA 70815

Bring a dish to share, Soft drinks, tea, coffee,and non-alcoholic eggnog provided. Bring your own alcohol. Non-members certainly welcome!

RSVP 225-272-5207 leave message with guest count and type of dish you'll be bringing to help us better plan for the gathering, or by email gpine48 <at> att.net Add this event to your online  calendar.

Bayou Manchac Paddle

  Nov. 2, 2013 - Fall Adventure Outing

From a boat launch in the Santa Maria subdivision, eight of us set off to paddle BayouManchac, a local scenic and historic river on a beautiful fall day.  We took an extension of Wards Creek into the bayou.   Guided by Jonathan Scott (jtscott39@gmail.com) and Nathaniel Klumb of Friends of the Bayou Manchac, we followed the tree draped Bayou Manchac passing a railroad bridge, old Perkins Road bridge, Bayou Fountain, Frog Bayou Lock turning around at Alligator Bayou Lock. Fishermen told us five alligators submerged as we approached the lock.  The junction of Alligator Bayou and Bayou Manchac has been a good fishing place at least since Iberville’s visit to the area in 1699.  A Civil War lieutenant reported that the Native Americans called this area Anatamaha.  Source: Charles E. Pearson, Anatamaha: the Fish Place, Louisiana Archaeological Society Newsletter, Spring 1987, p 5.  

On our return we took a side trip a mile down Bayou Fountain where we saw one of the Kleinpeter Indian mounds.  Archaeologists have found evidence of activity as far back as 2000 years in this area. Trees draped all the way across the bayou as we maneuvered around fallen trees and tried to ignore the patches of litter. A large section of Baton Rouge drains thru Bayou Manchac, then the Amite River and into Lake Maurepas.

Since there are no public launches on the bayou, Jonathan obtained permission for us to put in and get out at Santa Maria launch.  Mary Ann Sternberg’s book, Winding through Time, provides a complete history of this historic bayou.  Click here for a video slideshow of Bayou Manchac from Alligator Bayou to the Amite River.

Find out more about the folks exploring and cleaning the creeks and bayous of the southern and eastern parts of East Baton Rouge Parish along its boundaries with Ascension and Livingston Parishes at PaddleBR.