Hard-working trees - Clippings - Brief Article

Armstrong Wood Products is helping plant 175,000 native hardwoods at the Bayou Bartholomew in Arkansas and an additional 25,000 hardwoods at the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

Bayou Bartholomew, the world's longest bayou, begins slightly northwest of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and flows approximately 300 miles before crossing the border of Louisiana and joining the Ouachita River. Lined in places with cypress and tupelo swamps, inhabited by alligators and large turtles, visited by waterfowl, and containing more than 130 species of fish, the bayou is considered a wonder of nature.

Although it's escaped many of the negative effects of channelization common to other parts of the delta, this riparian area still suffers from previous deforestation and agriculturalization. It's also an important habitat for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species such as the American alligator, snapping turtle, and bald eagle.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR follows the last 275 river miles of the Rio Grande. Subtropic, temperate, coastal, and desert influences converge at this juncture, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley is considered one of the most biologically diverse wildlife refuges in the continental United States. Eleven distinct biotic communities are host or home to 1,100 types of plants, 700 vertebrate species (including 484 birds), and more than 300 species of butterflies.

More than 60 native tree species, including bottomland hardwoods, are being planted on riparian land.