2020 Private Lands Conservation Champion
Ed Justice - Morehouse Parish, Louisiana
Mr. Ed Justice spends many days each year "giving back to the land" on his 850-acre property in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, located within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The property is located on a two and a half mile stretch of Bayou Bartholomew, a designated Scenic Stream by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). The lower portions of the tract include mature bottomland hardwood and reforested areas of the same forest type. Mr. Justice manages a green tree reservoir in this area, as well as, maintains permanent water in other locations. Other habitat types include mature mixed pine/hardwood, grassland managed as early successional habitat, and shallow water wetlands. Areas still in agricultural production include a hay meadow and pecan orchard.
Natural resource professionals from many partner organizations have been welcomed on this property over the last 18 years. The property has been enrolled in the Deer Management Assistance Program for many years, providing valuable deer harvest data for this region. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Quail Forever and others have been engaged to provide technical assistance and Mr. Justice has implemented practices such as grassland restoration, prescribed burning, wetland management and invasive species control. Mr. Justice has also implemented various conservation practices through NRCS programs such as EQIP, CSP, WRP and ACEP WRE. Many of the practices that have been installed not only provide great wildlife habitat, but have been designed to provide other benefits, including water quality improvement of Bayou Bartholomew, wildlife corridors and establishment of pollinator habitat. 350 acres have been restored and permanently protected with Wetlands Reserve Easements and the whole property is recognized and enrolled in the Forest Stewardship Program.
Goals at the fore-front of Mr. Justice's operation include not only improving the habitat for wildlife but increasing the diversity of plants and animals that utilize the property. The active management employed on this property supports habitat for waterfowl and wading birds, as well as, forest interior birds, whose habitat is enhanced by active timber management. Recent efforts to create habitat for the monarch butterfly and other pollinators have also enhanced the same acreage for bobwhite quail. The continuation of these activities will ensure that Mr. Ed Justice achieves his conservation goal of leaving this piece of property better than he found it. Meanwhile, he will continue to gain the most enjoyment from others visiting to experience the bountiful resources that this property has to offer. For his multiple stewardship contributions as a private landowner conservationist, Mr. Ed Justice is recognized as a model conservation champion for the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture.
