St. Tammany News

State and local dignitaries gathered amidst towering trees under sunny blue skies just north of Folsom in Washington Parish Thursday, picked up shovels and dug some dirt. The shovel blades were painted gold.

The event that prompted the assembly in the woods was the ceremonial groundbreaking for Bogue Chitto State Park, a 1,760-acre expanse located mostly on the west side of the Bogue Chitto River east of Louisiana Highway 25 between Folsom and Franklinton.

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu calls the state park 'cutting edge,' and says it will boost the local economy while providing recreational opportunity and preserving the environment. (Staff Photo by Marcelle Hanemann)

The $24.5 million park is expected to open in 2010.

"This will be one of our finest parks," said Stuart Johnson, assistant secretary of state parks. "It's been years coming, but we're breaking ground, and there's no looking back. We're going to have it open for the people as soon as possible."

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who stood in cowboy boots on the then-dry red earth, agreed.

"It's exciting," he said. "This is going to be cutting edge, one of the best in the entire state. This is a great place."

The park started as a vision of then-state Rep. Jerry Thomas in 1990s.

"We passed legislation to create a park commission to select a site," he said Thursday.

Thomas said he had the rolling and diverse terrain of the property that contains "Fricke's Cave" in mind but left the selection to the committee. It was a unanimous decision.

The park system had already purchased nearly 50 acres of the land in 1981. And in 2000 then-senator Thomas "pushed to purchase the rest of property."

Manmade obstacles and the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina slowed progress. But, thanks to the continuing efforts of state and local officials, like Sen. Ben Nevers and Rep. Harold Ritchie, who helped secure the state funding, the project is now under way.

At this point, $16.9 million of the total has been obtained, and the legislators are seeking the rest. Clifford Melius, chief of resource development for the Office of State Parks, said the current project will include "all of the elements" of the overall plan.

"We've had to scale it down while they get the rest of the funding," he said. "But we will have a full park when we open. We'll just add to it."

Johnson expanded.

"When it's completed, it will have all the amenities of a state park," he said. "It will have a visitor's center, eight cabins, day use facilities, a beach area, a water facility, a spray park, miles of equestrian and hiking and biking trails. People can come and do what they like to do."

There will also be an amphitheater and various types of camping possibilities, including about 100 recreational vehicle sites, said Johnson.

But the biggest attraction will be the extraordinary natural environment. The terrain includes a 120-foot change in elevation from boggy, lowland areas to forested highlands. And the plan is to keep the property as close as possible to its natural state while making it easily accessible to the public.

Visitors will be able to experience a diversity of plant communities, wildlife and habitats that include natural sandbars, lakes, sand dunes, small streams, cypress tupelo swamps, a hardwood-forested gorge, bayhead swamps and upland forests. The 10 existing lakes that cover a total 32 acres will be available for fishing and canoeing, and visitors will also be able to canoe or tube along the river.

Crews have been clearing roads for weeks, and construction has begun.

Landrieu said the park will not only provide recreation and be an asset for the "critically important work of conservation," but will also be a boon to the economy. Local officials agreed.

"I can't think of anything more important than this development for our economy," said Franklinton Mayor Earle Brown.

As the dozens of dignitaries stood in dappled sunlight breathing in the fresh air and commenting on the beautiful vista, a handful of people who grew up on the land savored the moments and mulled some memories.

Betty Crockett said her mother was the oldest child of Andrew Thomas, who owned some of the property. As a child, decades ago, she played under the trees and in the gorge, she said.

"We played in the old cave and had picnics," said Betty Crockett.

"People used to come from New Orleans to see the cave. My grandfather had a gate, and he charged maybe a nickel a car. He had picnic tables and outdoor toilets and a water pump. I never dreamed it would one day be something like this. This is wonderful."

Thomas did have the dream, and now so do Nevers and Ritchie.

"I assure you this is going to be a destination point for people from all over the United States," said Nevers. "People will be able to enjoy what we've enjoyed for years."

Ritchie checked out a rendering by project architect Fauntleroy and Latham, of planned park buildings.

"When they get my cabin built, I won't have to keep going to the mountains," he joked. "I'm not talking ethics. I know I'll have to pay my own way."

He said he's ready.

"This is going to be great," said Ritchie. "I'm proud to have the project here."