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TENSAS ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT
Description:
An ecological assessment in the Tensas River Basin, Louisiana, has been completed by the U.S. EPA in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and other stakeholder groups. This assessment, conducted using landscape ecology and water quality methods, can be used to evaluate the impact of human land use practices on changes in environmental quality. The Tensas ecological assessment also can be used to help decision makers determine the best location for restoration sites. The Tensas River Basin encompasses approximately 930,000 acres of Mississippi River alluvial flood plain in Northeast Louisiana. Historically, most of the Basin was covered with bottomland hardwood forested wetlands, described as some of the richest ecosystems in the country in terms of plant and animal species diversity and productivity. When cleared, the land has proved to be some of the Nation's most productive farmland for grain and fiber. A conflict exists between agricultural interests who value the land for cultivation of traditional row crops and those concerned with sustaining a healthy, diverse, and stable ecosystem.