The Lake Field/Lake Long Game and Fish Preserve (Preserve) includes approximately 3,060 acres around Lake Fields and 3,625 acres around Lake Long
and is located in Lafourche Parish south of U.S. Highway 90, west of the Town of Lockport, and north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Bing web site
map viewer displays the Lake Fields and Lake Long area. The map can be zoomed and aerial, road, and birds-eye
(highly recommended for close ups) views are available.
The Preserve boundaries coincides with the high water marks or 1857 historic meander lines of Lake Fields and Lake Long except for some areas that
have been sold or
transferred by the State of Louisiana [FIGURE 1.
State lands may also be viewed
online through the Louisiana Office of State Lands map viewer; this map viewer must be "zoomed in" and appropriate images and overlays selected to display
the boundaries of the Preserve.
The Preserve is situated in an inter-levee basin between the Bayou Lafourche natural ridge to the east and the Bayou Grand Coteau ridge to the west.
The dominant feature of the Preserve is the approximately 2,000 acre Lake Fields and ___ acre Lake Long. Other water bodies include Company Canal,
Bayou Folse, Little Lake, Bayou Dumar, Bayou Blue, Hollywood Canal and various oil exploration and drainage canals FIGURE 2].
The remainder of the Preserve is primarily "flotant" fresh marsh characterized by shallow ponds,
open marsh grass areas, and extensive wax myrtle thickets. Bottomland hardwoods occur primarily along canal spoil banks.
The Lake Fields and Lake Long watershed of 52,214 acres originates just south of Thibodaux. The area is sparsely populated except for the Bayou Lafourche corridor.
The drainage basin is 38.7% agriculture/cropland/grassland, 20% fresh marsh, 18.4% wetland forests, 9.4% urban, and 8.5% water, with
the remainder miscellaneous forests or wetlands.
Sources of freshwater for Lake Fields are from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Bayou Lafourche via Company Canal and from the Bayou Folse
watershed. Freshwater inflow into Lake Long originates from Company Canal, Hollywood Canal, and several oil exploration and canals. This
inflow of freshwater, coupled with minimal daily tidal effects, generally produce year round freshwater conditions although periodic seasonal
saltwater intrusion may occur from the south via Company Canal during periods of low rainfall and/or low Atchafalya River discharges.
The Preserve is open to the public at all times for recreation and other legal activities. Recreational opportunities available in the Preserve
include sport fishing, hunting (deer, waterfowl, and rabbits), boating, bird watching, frogging, and camping. Access is primarily from public
boat launches along Company Canal in Bourg (Texas Gulf Road) and Lockport (Canal Street) and the Butch Hill launch on Bayou Cut Off (Highway 652).
