The basin's nutrient-rich waters, lush vegetation and numerous species of trees nurture wildlife, purify polluted waters, check the destructive powers of floods and storms, and provide people with the opportunity to enjoy and learn from nature.

Four adjacent habitats, rising from the open water of bayous and lakes to swamps, bottomland-hardwood forests and distributary ridges, compose a rich, diverse and rare ecosystem.

Located on the Mississippi River Flyway, the 17,000-acre Spanish Lake Basin is visited by pelicans, ibis, cormorants and roseate spoonbills that rest and fish in Cypress Flats during their migratory flight to Canada and Central/South America. Between 250 and 285 species of birds visit and live in these bayous, swamps and forests. While egrets and herons lunge for fish, alligators sunbathe on fallen logs and red-shouldered hawks and bald eagles soar over the tops of moss-draped cypress trees.

The primitive beauty of this wilderness motivated Frank Bonifay and Jim Ragland, the co-owners of Alligator Bayou Tours, to take bold steps to save the basin in 1993. Upon learning that timber cutters planned to deforest hundreds of acres of Bluff Swamp, they worked with neighboring landowners, area citizens and local, state and federal governments to acquire and preserve the land and its surrounding waters.

Nearly 1,500 acres were acquired, 901 of which are preserved as is in perpetuity through a national non-profit organization, Bluff Swamp Wildlife Refuge & Botanical Gardens. Today this area is home to giant old-growth bald cypress trees, alligators, snakes, turtles, owls, white-tailed deer, frogs, birds and many other species that you will meet during your visit here.

Everything at Alligator Bayou is part of this restoration effort. While the Alligator EcoHabitat, Alligator Snapping Turtle Pond, Bobcat Habitat, Old-Growth Forest and Cajun Heritage Museum serve to educate and entertain visitors, these attractions are part of an ambitious effort to preserve the basin's cultural heritage and restore its wildlife population to historic magnificence.

Future projects include bird rookeries, walkways to old-growth cypress trees, and reconnecting the historic waterway, Bayou Manchac, to the Mississippi River in order to restore the natural hydrology of this ancient backwater swamp.

Centuries ago, the Spanish Lake Basin was noted by Iberville, Louisiana's first explorer, and the famed naturalist William Bartram for its beautiful trees and abundant wildlife. Today this is one of few remaining wetlands being restored in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

The basin's restoration, constantly challenged by pollution, land misuse and destructive development, depends entirely on the public-private partnership between Alligator Bayou Tours and Bluff Swamp Wildlife Refuge. Just as in nature, this symbiotic relationship also depends on you and your support, both in visiting this precious jewel of nature and in your vote for political candidates who understand and support the need for pristine wilderness areas.

Our heartfelt preservation and restoration efforts have won acclaim in newspapers, magazines and television documentaries published throughout the U.S. and abroad. The following awards have encouraged us.