During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, thousands of acres of lower Mississippi River Valley bottomland hardwoods were converted to other uses. Hundreds of square miles of biologically important forests were converted to row-crop agriculture. Migratory waterfowl and neotropical songbirds suffered tremendously because of the habitat loss. The black bear was especially hard hit because of ecological fragmentation and lack of genetic interchange among individual black

bear populations.

Over time, the converted woodlands proved unsuitable for row-crop agriculture. Flooding and wet conditions prevailed, causing poor crops and/or failed harvests. As a result of increasing crop failures, bankruptcies, and associated problems, rural communities faced financial despair. Land that was formerly so productive from a natural, ecological standpoint was now unproductive for both people and wildlife.

Passage of a new Farm Bill in 1992 created a conservation opportunity in rural Louisiana. Farmers began enrolling in the

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), a voluntary program that offers payments to landowners who restore wetlands that were previously drained and converted to agricultural uses. The WRP has become a catalyst for many efforts and initiatives already underway, adding to their capacity to restore the critical wetlands and woodlands of the

Mississippi Delta.

The Black Bear Corridor Special Project, an initiative designed to create a contiguous wooded and wetland corridor between two existing black bear populations in Louisiana, is one of many projects benefi ting from the WRP. The Black Bear Corridor Special Project is actively targeting easement acquisition and restoration on 56,250 acres in the State. Future goals include a wooded/wetland corridor from northeast Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. The project will also provide uninterrupted habitat for neotropical songbirds and waterfowl during spring and fall migrations between South America and Canada.

To date, the lower Mississippi River Valley WRP of Louisiana has enrolled more than 213,000 acres in the program and restored 145,000 acres.