Grand Isle State Pak

[Duck Butter]

Sad but true, State Parks are very much underfunded but if you look at the budget for the state, we aren't doing that well.

As far as the 'weeds' go, most of that is native vegetation that is there to reduce dune erosion. There is an effort to get people along the levees to stop mowing so much and let the native vegetation take over. If you look on the levees in places that are not mowed, there are wildflowers, native grasses, etc all over which all have deep root systems to keep the sand right there unlike St Augustine or Bermudagrass

Grand Isle is one of THE biggest areas for migratory songbirds to both stopover during migration and also breeding birds. The Migratory Bird Festival is held there every year and a big deal for the local economy, so birds are kinda the driving force behind these decisions. Poison ivy is actually a very good wildlife plant. The seeds are eaten by birds and deer eat it up as well (no deer on Grand Isle, but anyway)

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

Sad but true, State Parks are very much underfunded but if you look at the budget for the state, we aren't doing that well.

As far as the 'weeds' go, most of that is native vegetation that is there to reduce dune erosion. There is an effort to get people along the levees to stop mowing so much and let the native vegetation take over. If you look on the levees in places that are not mowed, there are wildflowers, native grasses, etc all over which all have deep root systems to keep the sand right there unlike St Augustine or Bermudagrass

Grand Isle is one of THE biggest areas for migratory songbirds to both stopover during migration and also breeding birds. The Migratory Bird Festival is held there every year and a big deal for the local economy, so birds are kinda the driving force behind these decisions. Poison ivy is actually a very good wildlife plant. The seeds are eaten by birds and deer eat it up as well (no deer on Grand Isle, but anyway)

My buddy took some pics of deer on Panama City Beach. I didn't think they would live that close to the Gulf.

As far as poison ivy that's great that it's good for the animals but it shouldn't be in the common areas where the camp grounds.

The grass they are talking about is in the camping area, on the north side of the levee, it should be cut. The grass on the Levees should be left alone.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

My buddy took some pics of deer on Panama City Beach. I didn't think they would live that close to the Gulf.

As far as poison ivy that's great that it's good for the animals but it shouldn't be in the common areas where the camp grounds.

The grass they are talking about is in the camping area, on the north side of the levee, it should be cut. The grass on the Levees should be left alone.

Gotcha

Probably just underfunded/understaffed like all our state agencies. Also not a whole lot of people that live on Grand Isle that need a job weedeating or picking up trash when they can make much more on a rig or on a boat instead of getting minimum wage Don't think anyone from Leeville or Golden Meadow would make that drive for that little of money either.