Atchafalaya Basin Manager: greystoke2u Category: Endangered Areas & Habitats Saved Locations: 1 Group Type: Public Established: 03/11/2005

It is almost 1 million acres if you start at the Old River Control Structure and go to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the largest freshwater river swamp in the nation. It is one of only six delta forming river deltas in the world. We have oil and gas, timber, navigation, commercial and sport fisheries and of course commercial crawfishing producing millions of revenue each year. It is more ecologically diverse than any other providing for a more uniquely beautiful experience. In addition, we have the unique Cajun culture that is so closely linked to the Basin.

The Atchafalaya overflow area at times covered the lands from the Mississippi River all the way west to the winding Bayou Teche. In spite of periodic flooding, the Atchafalaya had towns, and farms and other inhabited areas. The Town of Bayou Chene had hundreds of residents, schools, churches, bars. After the devastating flood of 1927, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) built levees and actually dug a main channel through Grand Lake. This was the beginning of the silting up of the Basin. At the time, the Atchafalaya Basin area was probably thought to be worthless, therefore allowing for the sacrifice to save people and towns was acceptable.