Baton Rouge Audubon Society

08/28/2026

By fortuitous coincidence, Dr. Erik Johnson will be giving an online talk for Audubon Delta about hummingbirds on Sept 16, just before the Hummingbird Celebration on Sept 19.
Register here: https://act.audubon.org/a/jewels-garden-closer-look-hummingbirds

08/27/2026

Hummingbird celebration coming up on Sept. 19 7am to noon at the LSU Ag Center Hammond Research station 21549 Old Covington Hwy. This event is free to the public. The gardens are full of flowers that attract hummingbirds and we'll have folks from the Tangipahoa Master Gardeners to tell you about them. Several feeding stations will be set up and we'll have information and programs about hummingbirds as well. Dr. Erik Johnson and crew will be capturing hummingbirds for banding so you may get to see one up close! Put it on your calendar!

08/24/2026

Our latest newsletter is online and ready to read! Find it here:https://d1gtltfwi0am8f.cloudfront.net/063b725f-5e26-4a07-8f5e-b89225ff7c60/BRASSummer2026v4.pdf

08/10/2026

The Mindfulness Workshop spearheaded by Alicia Barnes and Britni Serou was a great success and resulted in a wonderful donation by the attendees to Baton Rouge Audubon Society. Many thanks to all who participated!

08/08/2026

A little background on the SpaceX project for Pecan Island. Proposed FAA regulations would exempt the facility from 13 "unnecessary" regulations, including waivers involving the Endangered Species Act and parts of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

To place this in a birding context, Pecan Island lies south of White Lake and near a number of wildlife sanctuaries. Rocket launches aren't necessarily a problem, but accidents on the pad or explosions post-launch but pre-orbit could leave a debris field impacting a number of important habitats, including current efforts to reintroduce the Whooping Crane. Musk could just say, "Oops," and that would be the end of it.

Local water pollution could also impact habitat. And recall that another current Administration innovation is defining harm to habitat as not an issue for purposes of the Endangered Species Act.

FAA environmental waiver for commercial space launches: The FAA proposed giving itself authority to bypass 13 laws — including the Endangered Species Act, NEPA, and tribal consultation rules — for every rocket launch license it issues. Environmental groups are vowing legal challenges, and a 30-d...

08/08/2026

Cameron Park-and-Ride Update.

The LNG industry is proposing building three park-and-ride lots in and near Johnson Bayou where workers can park and be bussed into the plants. A proposed 900 vehicle lot would be next to the Stingray plant across Highway 82 from Peveto Woods.

The Louisiana Wildlife Federation has entered the fray. Rick Owens makes some excellent points, which members are free to reference in upcoming discussions:

Request for Consolidated Public Hearing- Coastal Use Permits P20260482, P20260563, and P20260483

Dear Ms. Putman-Duhon,

On behalf of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, I respectfully request that the Department of Conservation and Energy suspend the three separate Coastal Use Permit proceedings for the Johnson Bayou park-and-ride facilities — P20260482, P20260563, and P20260483 — and consolidate them into a single public hearing held in Johnson Bayou.

The three applications are components of one undertaking: worker staging for the Caturus/Commonwealth LNG construction project. Reviewed separately, no single proceeding accounts for their combined footprint, more than 2,000 additional worker vehicles daily, continuous shuttle operations, and, together with existing lots, vehicle volumes approaching 7,000 per day through 2030. The cumulative effects on coastal habitat, water quality, traffic, and public safety cannot be meaningfully evaluated one permit at a time. A consolidated review is the only way to weigh the full burden these facilities would place on the community and the coastal zone.

The Federation’s particular concern is the proposed 900-vehicle Targa facility (P20260563), sited immediately across the highway from Peveto Woods Bird Sanctuary. Peveto Woods is one of the premier trans-Gulf migratory stopover sites on the entire Gulf Coast, the first landfall for neotropical songbirds crossing the Gulf each spring and a critical resting and feeding area along the Mississippi Flyway. A large, actively lit and trafficked parking facility directly adjacent to that sanctuary raises specific, science-based concerns: nighttime lighting disorients migrating birds, and continuous noise and activity degrade the value of a site whose entire function is to let exhausted migrants rest and refuel. These impacts, together with stormwater runoff into adjacent coastal wetlands, warrant careful evaluation on the record, evaluation that fragmented, permit-by-permit review does not allow.

Consolidating these proceedings into one hearing would serve both sound coastal management and the public interest by ensuring the cumulative impacts on wildlife, habitat, coastal resources, and community safety are fully considered before any permit is issued. We respectfully urge the Department to grant that hearing.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rick Owens
Advocacy Director
Louisiana Wildlife Federation

07/30/2026

Passing along from Michele Long, about a series of park-and-ride facilities planned for the Johnson Bayou area to serve coming LNG expansion. Please read and do what you can.

Dear Audubon Delta Mississippi, Audubon Aquarium Rescue, NOAA Fisheries, Louisiana Ornithological Society, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, International Crane Foundation, and fellow conservation partners,

The Johnson Bayou community is asking for your support.
Three Coastal Use Permit applications have been submitted for new park-and-ride facilities associated with the Caturus/Commonwealth LNG construction project. Together, these facilities would bring more than 2,000 additional worker vehicles each day into Johnson Bayou, along with approximately 29 shuttle buses making continuous trips to the Commonwealth LNG construction site near the Cameron Ferry. (Permit Application Attached)

While these projects are located in Johnson Bayou, their impacts extend far beyond our community. Cameron Parish is home to some of Louisiana's most important coastal habitats, and the decisions made today will affect wildlife, public safety, recreation, and ecotourism throughout the parish.

The proposed projects are:
Johnson Bayou Park and Ride – 500 vehicles near the Johnson Bayou Library (Coastal Use Permit P20260482) – Comment Deadline: July 30, 2026
Targa Park and Ride – 900 vehicles adjacent to Peveto Woods Bird Sanctuary (Coastal Use Permit P20260563) – Comment Deadline: August 7, 2026
Stream West Park and Ride – 665 vehicles near the Johnson Bayou Fire Station (Coastal Use Permit P20260483) – Comment Deadline: August 8, 2026

Although these are being reviewed as three separate permit applications, they are all part of the same Caturus/Commonwealth LNG construction project and should be evaluated together so the full cumulative impact can be considered.
Combined with the approximately 600 worker vehicles already traveling to the Pogy, Stone, and Southland lots each day, West Cameron Parish roads could see nearly 7,000 vehicles daily through 2030.

Peveto Woods Bird Sanctuary is internationally recognized as one of the premier migratory bird stopover sites along the Gulf Coast and serves as a critical resting and feeding area for thousands of birds traveling the Mississippi Flyway each spring and fall. Cameron Parish's beaches, marshes, cheniers, and wetlands also provide habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds, sea turtles, fisheries, and countless other wildlife species. These same natural resources attract birders, photographers, anglers, researchers, educators, and ecotourists from across Louisiana and beyond.

Your organizations have dedicated countless hours to protecting and restoring these valuable coastal resources. We believe your expertise and advocacy can help ensure that the cumulative impacts of these three projects on wildlife, habitat, public access, and nature-based tourism are fully considered before permits are issued.

Residents are also concerned about increased traffic, emergency response times, school bus safety, evacuation routes, and the overall impact on our rural community. With multiple industrial projects expected to bring thousands of additional daily vehicle trips to South Cameron Parish, our roads will experience unprecedented traffic volumes over the next several years. Before these projects move forward, the cumulative impacts on public safety, infrastructure, wildlife, and coastal resources should be thoroughly reviewed through a public hearing.

Please help ensure your voice is heard by taking a few minutes to complete the following two actions:
Send an email to: [email protected]
Request that the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy:
Suspend the three separate Coastal Use Permit proceedings and schedule ONE all-inclusive Public Hearing in Johnson Bayou so the residents, conservation organizations, and agencies most affected can share their concerns, ask questions, and provide suggestions regarding the cumulative impacts of these projects.
Your email can be as simple as:
"I respectfully request that the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy suspend the separate proceedings for Coastal Use Permits P20260482, P20260563, and P20260483 and schedule one combined Public Hearing in Johnson Bayou so the cumulative impacts of these projects can be fully considered."
If possible, include concerns related to wildlife conservation, migratory birds, habitat protection, visitor access, ecotourism, traffic safety, emergency response, or other impacts relevant to your organization's mission.

Submit your comments through the Department's online public comment portal:
https://sonlite.dnr.state.la.us/ords/f...

Every email and every public comment demonstrates the importance of ensuring these interconnected projects receive a comprehensive public review before decisions are made.
Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the wildlife, habitats, and natural heritage of Cameron Parish. We sincerely appreciate your consideration and hope you will join us in requesting a comprehensive public hearing so that all potential impacts can be carefully evaluated.

Sincerely,
Michele Long
Johnson Bayou Community

06/25/2026

Thank you, Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex, for loaning your Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) to Peveto Woods Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary. They did an amazing job opening up some of the trails!

05/28/2026

Finally got the video of our April program uploaded to our YouTube channel! Enjoy hearing about the Benefits of Bugs presented by Dr. Frank Rinkevich with the USDA Bee lab.

Insects are among the most underappreciated but most critical components of a healthy ecosystem which provide many benefits to natural systems and greatly in...

05/21/2026

Thank you so much to LOS- Louisiana Ornithological Society for donating this picnic table to Peveto Woods Bird & Butterfly Sanctuary, and to Paul Zimmerman for helping with the delivery and setup! It will get plenty of use.