Caddo Biocontrol Alliance

05/28/2026

The new Star Wars movie was partially filmed on Caddo Lake. See how it happened. bit.ly/4uwUGGl

The new Star Wars movie was filmed in part on Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas, and the tour company Captain Ron's Swamp Tours took the crew out.

05/28/2026

Thanks to conservation efforts, we now have a thriving Bald Eagle population on our East Texas waterways—a true success story. It's exciting that Bald Eagle sightings and posts are starting to feel redundant! Here, one immature sibling eagle watches as the other takes flight by Hurricane Creek on Lake O' the Pines.

Lake O' the Pines is at 228.74 with a release of 20 CFS into the Big Cypress Bayou, and Caddo is at 168.81.

05/28/2026

The LSU system has surpassed $600 million in research expenditures for the 2024–25 year, marking continued growth in innovation and impact across the state and beyond.

The LSU AgCenter is proud to be part of that progress. Through initiatives like the Mississippi River Invasive Species Consortium, we’re working with partners across the region to detect, manage and prevent invasive species that threaten agriculture, natural resources and communities.

By connecting research with real-world solutions, the AgCenter continues to support Louisiana producers, protect our environment and strengthen the state’s economy.

05/25/2026

Green herons are one of the few tool-using birds documented in the wild. They drop bread crusts, insects, twigs, feathers, and berries onto the surface to lure fish within striking range. They reposition the bait if it drifts. They retrieve it if nothing comes. They manage the lure the way an angler manages a fly.

The behavior appears partly instinctive and partly learned — some individuals bait-fish constantly while others in the same population never do.

She's about the size of a crow. Stocky, dark, hunched — easy to overlook at the water's edge. Most people walk past her looking for the great blue heron standing in the shallows.

🐾 Where to find one:

- Any creek, pond, or stream edge with overhanging branches
- Low perches close to the water — she hunts from inches above the surface
- Late May through August. Still, patient, and easy to miss until she strikes.

The bird nobody notices is the one fishing with tools 🌿

05/21/2026

Huge news from the field.

Caddo Biocontrol Alliance has documented a large overwintered population of salvinia weevils at one of our release sites on Caddo Lake.

For years, cold winters in Northeast Texas and Northwest Louisiana have limited long-term survival of salvinia weevils in the wild. Researchers with the LSU AgCenter, Texas A&M, and wildlife agencies have repeatedly documented winter die-offs on Caddo following hard freezes, which is why developing cold-tolerant populations has become such an important goal. (caddolakeinstitute.org)

But this population survived.

That matters because every successful overwintering event helps identify and propagate weevils better adapted to the climate conditions of Caddo Lake. Those traits could dramatically improve long-term biological control of giant salvinia, one of the most destructive invasive aquatic plants in the south.

This is exactly the kind of progress Caddo Biocontrol Alliance was founded to achieve.

A very exciting milestone for the lake and everyone working to protect it.

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 highlights a critical truth: protecting wetlands is inseparable from achieving global biodiversity, climate, and water goals.

Despite covering a vast area of more than 1.8 billion hectares, wetlands continue to disappear faster than forests. This report brings together the latest global data to show:

- The rising costs of degradation

- Practical pathways for nature‑positive action

- The investment needed to restore & safeguard them

- The immense economic & societal value wetlands provide

If your work touches sustainability, climate, water management, or other related fields, this is essential reading.

Full report: https://www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org/

05/11/2026

Had an incredible learning visit to LSU and the lab of Dr. Rodrigo Diaz in Baton Rouge. Our Caddo Biocontrol Alliance crew had the opportunity to tour their weevil operations, see current experiments in progress, and learn from a team doing important work in aquatic plant biocontrol.

We are grateful for the hospitality, knowledge shared, and the chance to exchange ideas with people who are just as passionate about protecting waterways as we are. Trips like this help us bring new insight and better practices back home to Caddo Lake. Looking forward to putting what we learned to good use.

05/07/2026

A turtle crossing a road in May is almost certainly a female carrying eggs.

She's not lost. She's heading to a nesting site she may have used for years — sometimes decades. The route is fixed. The road was built across her path, not the other way around.

Aquatic turtles — painted, snapping, spotted — leave ponds to find warm, well-drained soil for egg-laying. Land turtles — box, wood — make shorter crossings but face the same risk. They move slowly, and during nesting season most of the ones on roads are females.

Turtles take years to reach breeding age. A female lost on the road isn't replaced quickly. The slow ones crossing in May are the ones the local population depends on most.

🐾 If you see one:

- Move her in the direction she was already heading — not back the way she came
- Don't relocate her to a "better" spot — turtles have strong site fidelity and will try to return to their route
- Carry small turtles by the sides of the shell, low to the ground
- Snapping turtles: grip the rear of the shell above the hind legs, not the tail — the tail is part of the spine and pulling it causes injury
- If traffic is heavy, turn on your hazards and help her across. It takes less than a minute

She'll cross the same stretch next year. Whether she makes it depends on who sees her first 🐢