Wildlife

The town of Jean Lafitte is located in the middle of the Barataria Basin, surrounded by swamp and marshlands teeming with wildlife. The Barataria Basin is one of the nation’s most productive estuaries. The basin is bounded on the north and east sides by the Mississippi River, to the west by Bayou Lafourche and to the south by barrier islands.

The basin hosts a variety of coastal habitats, including bottomland hardwood forests, swamps, marshes ranging from fresh to saltwater, bays and barrier islands. The basin also contains the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Barataria Preserve, which is the only natural area on the Louisiana coast that is part of the National Park system.