Mile 42.5 - RBD Port of Krotz Springs
42.5 RBD Port of Krotz Springs
The Port of Krotz Springs is located on the Atchafalaya River at mile 47.5 below the juncture of the Atchafalaya River with the Mississippi River near Simmesport and 76 miles above the intersection of the Atchafalaya River with the U.S. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Morgan City. The Atchafalaya River is maintained at a depth of 12 feet by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the port, the channel is approximately 1,000 feet wide, providing ample clearances for anchorage and fleeting. The Port is located adjacent to State Hwy. 105 and one mile south of U.S. Hwy 190. The nearest rail service is 2 miles away and is provided by Union Pacific Railroad. The nearest interstate Highway is U.S. I-49 located 17 miles west of the Port. U.S. I-10 can be accessed off of U.S. I-49 or can be reached by traveling 40 miles east to Baton Rouge.
The Port is located on 134 acres of riverfront property, half of which is occupied. Electricity, water and gas are available on site. An additional 200 acres of riverfront property has recently been purchased.
The Atchafalaya River is maintained at a depth of 12 feet by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the port, the channel is approximately 1,000 feet wide, providing ample clearances for anchorage and fleeting. Adjacent to the port area the depth of the river is 100 feet. Businesses presently operating at the port include ALON USA, Bunge Corporation, Cabot Corporation, and Acadian Shell & Limestone. There are 300 employees working at the port complex. Six docks are being operated at the port. Products handled are oil and aggregate. Current tonnage figures show 3.1 million tons of cargo handled at the port. A new general cargo dock has been constructed. It is a T-dock 145 feet wide that extends 220 feet into the Atchafalaya River with a 25 foot wide roadway. The Port has an annual gross revenue of $350,000 with an overall annual tonnage of 3.1 million tons, the primary incoming cargo being crude oil and primary outgoing cargo Refined petroleum products and aggregate. (krotzsprings.net)
Krotz Springs to the Split
The Atchafalaya River makes two big bends in the next 15 miles, and dives ever deeper into the bottomland hardwood forests of the mid-basin. The levees open up below Krotz Springs, making for more batture along the river, and increasing the wild feel of the river. The last of big agriculture is seen right bank descending several miles below US 190. From here down to Morgan City there will be no more open fields, only dense forests, marshes, swamps, and waterways in between. Coincidentally, this is also the beginning of the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, a giant NWR that sprawls over the east bank of the river for approximately 20 miles downstream.
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1984. Its 15,000 acres are part of the largest bottomland hardwood swamp in the country. This beautiful swampland offers a multitude of recreational options. Hunting, fishing, hiking and some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the country exist in the Atchafalaya Basin. The refuge is managed cooperatively with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sherburne Wildlife Management Area and the Corps of Engineers Atchafalaya Spillway Water Diversion Project.
Endangered and Threatened Species on the Refuge: Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) and American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The American alligator was de-listed as an endangered species in 1987 but remains listed as threatened due to similarity in appearance to the endangered American crocodile. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was de-listed as a threatened species in 2007.
Other Wildlife Species: White-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, the spectacular swallow-tailed kite, and neo-tropical migratory birds. Excellent opportunities exist for bird-watching on the refuge. The refuge was identified as a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy. The bottomland hardwood forests and the mix of bayous, oxbow lakes, sloughs, and swamps create a diversity of habitats important to a wide range of bird species.
Habitat Description: America’s great river swamp deep in the heart of Cajun country, and the southern end of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. It’s the nations largest complex of forested wetlands of bottomland hardwoods and swamps.