Louisiana natives fight to protect river basin

They sit. Visitors from all over the country can sit under the pavilion at Alligator Bayou, shaded by mossy cypresses that stand over calm, muddy swamp waters.

But most of these people will never know that this portrait of Southern relaxation exists today only because of two men's tireless dedication.

Frank Bonifay and Jim Ragland, forest and wildlife preservationists, say they "haven't had a break since day one" - more than 15 years ago.

Baton Rouge-born Bonifay and Raceland-native Ragland gained success as a contracting team prior to becoming preservationists.

Bonifay said they impressed the multi-million dollar contracting firm International Resources Group when the company hired the two to handle its Baton Rouge projects.

Bonifay and Ragland continued to succeed, and International Resources eventually named them preferred contractors. The duo traveled the country, raking in millions and managing more than 200 workers.

They used part of that fortune to build a home in the Spanish River Basin, where Bonifay's parents took him fishing as a child.

Though Bonifay and Ragland made great money, they decided to shift from contracting to conservation in 1993. Neighbors alerted the two of ongoing deforestation in the old-growth forests. The forest belonged to several private owners whom developers sought to buy from and then clear the land, piece by piece, Ragland said.

"We figured we could sit back and watch it all burn, or we could try to save it," Ragland said.

Their first rescue attempt was purchasing the entrance to the forest to shut out timber cutters. It failed. The private owners still had control over their own property and could do with it what they wished.

Bonifay said they soon realized the only way to salvage the "historical treasure of the state of Louisiana" was to liquidate their business assets, buildings and retirement funds and buy the 1,600-acre spread of land.

Bonifay and Ragland immediately set to work restoring this land. The previous deforestation allowed raw sewage to flow into the Basin, which killed alligators, eagles and bobcats, they said.

Bonifay said they brought in 65 bull and female alligators to begin re-populating the swamp. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries provided female bobcats to breed with an injured male bobcat the duo found on the side of the road.

These animals - along with snapping turtles, possums, 285 species of birds and 2000-year-old trees - are just some of the natural beauty visitors will see on one of Alligator Bayou's Eco-swamp Tours. They cruise on the Alligator Queen, a canopied tour boat, through 13,000 acres of the bayous, swamps and lakes of the Spanish River Basin, according to Alligator Bayou's Web site.

"We pull your leg and play on the image that we're not the smartest cookies in the world," Bonifay said. "And then we start teaching and inspiring you when we walk you through the Old-Growth Forest."

At the end of each Eco-swamp Tour, Bonifay and Ragland bring out bobcat cubs and a parade of rescued dogs that now have a home in Alligator Bayou.  

Having resurrected the ecosystem, they finally began fulfilling their original goal: to establish a research and educational center for pre-K through graduate students.

Since 1995, Bonifay and Ragland have worked toward building an institution that would give students the resources they need to study and continue to preserve the state's natural treasure.

Bonifay said after more than 15 years, their dream was finally within reach. But something always stands in the way.

The property holds a well that contains an estimated $3.8 million in natural gas with which Bonifay and Ragland planned to fund the center. Bonifay said they have spent years of labor - and about $40,000 - to extract the natural gas.

They hit gas on March 10. That portion of land was re-leased to a private owner two days later.

The re-leasing was possible because the gas well was in an 82.5-acre chunk of land that Bonifay and Ragland leased to Goodrich Petroleum Corporation three years ago.

Goodrich Petroleum was interested in drilling the land's oil wells, and Bonifay said they did not want the liability and did not mind leasing it to them. Goodrich Petroleum decided not to use it and leased it back to the two men.

That leasing was declared illegal, and the Pontchartrain Levee Board re-leased the piece of land to a private owner two days after they reached the gas, Bonifay said.

"We have been robbed," Bonifay said. "We have been robbed of the sweat on our brow - our effort - and our money that we put into the well."

Hope is what is left, Bonifay said. He is now working to discuss the issue with Paul M. Hebert Law Center faculty to learn what he can do to fight this in to build the research and educational center he has always aspired to.

"Now we may own it, but it's not ours," Bonifay said. "It's the future's. It's the kids'."

This attitude is the driving force behind Bonifay and Ragland's never-ending battle to preserve the land that is the constant target for new money-making development plans, such as the Baton Rouge Loop - a toll road originally designed to clear out acres of forest - and new dumping sites.

"You start off at one day at a time," Ragland said. "Some days you can take a thousand steps and it's great, and sometimes you feel like you can't take one more step."

Bonifay and Ragland expressed the utmost gratitude to those who have helped them along the way, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, Paul and Marylee Orr of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and University faculty and students.

Even without the research and education center, Bonifay and Ragland have the opportunity to reach out to younger generations every day through their Eco-Swamp Tours.

"People who have an agenda for money and power, your cup may never be full," Bonifay said. "Mine's full. I teach the kids. I show the world the beauty of our semitropical forest, and I will never stop."

---- Contact Julie Gutierrez at jgutierrez@lsureveille.com