New Irrigation Well Supports Palmetto Island State Park’s Iris Restoration Project

June 14, 2025 Abbeville, La.

An irrigation well has been drilled at Palmetto Island State Park’s boardwalk swamp, home to the Abbeville Red iris restoration project. The well was completed this week after three months of planning.

The irrigation well was proposed as a way to better control the water level in the park’s boardwalk swamp. Because the swamp sits near the top of the watershed, its water level is not affected by tides from the Vermilion River, as most of the park’s wetlands are. Instead, it relies entirely on rainfall to stay wet.

During a severe drought in the fall of 2023, water had to be pumped from a pond 400 feet away to keep the irises alive in the park’s boardwalk swamp.

For most of the year—especially during the winter months—rainfall is enough to keep the swamp wet or even full, since water drains into it from a wide section of nearby hardwood forest. However, in late spring and summer, the boardwalk swamp usually dries out completely. The reason: numerous mature cypress trees in the swamp pull huge amounts of water from the ground during their growing season.

This seasonal drying creates several challenges for the iris restoration project:

• Stress on the irises. Water-loving Louisiana irises struggle to survive when the swamp goes dry during the hottest months of the year.

• Uncertainty about planting times. Newly planted irises die if they are set out too early in the fall before rains return. However, if planting is delayed too long, an unexpected major rain at the start of the winter rainy season can quickly fill the swamp, making large planting areas inaccessible.

In the past, volunteers had to wait until just before predicted late-fall rains while the swamp was still dry. This made planning planting events difficult, often requiring them to be organized on short notice.

Recent seasons highlight how unpredictable this can be. In 2023, a massive rainstorm the night before volunteers were scheduled to plant 700 irises completely filled the swamp, making prime planting areas inaccessible. In 2024, volunteers managed to get 400 irises planted before another unexpected storm flooded the swamp. That left another 400 to be planted in early spring 2025, which were successfully planted, but 500 more were still waiting when another rainstorm flooded the swamp before they could go in.

The new irrigation well will help stabilize conditions and give project leaders much-needed flexibility when it comes to scheduling planting days. It represents an important step forward in ensuring that the Abbeville Red irises have the best chance to survive and thrive in the park's iris restoration project.

Black’s Water Well Drilling Company crew begins work on the park’s irrigation well in early June 2025.

The Abbeville Red iris restoration project at the park is led by the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) in partnership with the Friends of Palmetto Island State Park. Other civic organizations, restoration groups, and garden clubs support the effort by providing volunteers or taking on key roles—such as germinating iris seeds collected from the Abbeville Swamp to grow the plants needed each year.

Gary Salathe, president of LICI, said: “Of course, this project would not be possible without the tremendous cooperation we’ve received from the Department of Louisiana State Parks and the park’s manager. The park staff has assisted us every step of the way.”

Abbeville Red irises in bloom at the park’s boardwalk swamp, April 2024.

Everyone involved in the Abbeville Red iris project shares the goal of making the park’s boardwalk swamp a world-class destination to experience this extremely rare Louisiana iris species in bloom each spring.

Once the boardwalk swamp is thriving with thousands of irises, the next step will be to confirm that the plants are true Iris nelsonii irises. From there, the long-term goal is to reintroduce them into the Abbeville Swamp to help restore the species in its native habitat.

“The installation of this irrigation well marks a major step forward in making this goal a reality. Our hope is that we will be able to get into the boardwalk swamp this fall before any major winter rains arrive. We should be able to plant as many irises as we have available and then turn on the well to keep them wet until the winter rains begin.” Salathe said.

Acknowledging the Supporters Who Made the Irrigation Well Possible

The following individuals, groups, and companies played key roles in making the drilling of the irrigation well possible:

• Andrea Jones, manager of Palmetto Island State Park, for championing the project and securing approval from the state park department. She also allowed staff to assist at critical times during the well and electrical installation. Special thanks to park employee Ryan for overseeing the well drilling and installing the PVC pipe from the well to the swamp.

This sign, installed near the well pump, thanks the groups and individuals who made the project possible.

• Black’s Water Well Drilling Company, for submitting a discounted bid to drill the well in support of the iris restoration project. Their bid was substantially lower than others submitted by competing companies.

• Meaux Electric, which provided the expertise and labor to install the electrical panels and wiring for the wellhead, and coordinated the purchase of all necessary electrical components.

• Friends of Palmetto Island State Park and their project liaison, Shannon Neveaux, who managed the finances, collected water testing data, obtained bids, and coordinated approvals. Shannon also served as a liaison for all parties involved during the well installation.

Everyone cheered as the irrigation well was turned on for the first time, sending water flowing from the outflow pipe near the edge of the boardwalk swamp.

• Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI), led by Gary Salathe, who initiated the project, assisted with pre-drilling planning, coordinated with Black’s Water Well Company, and was on-site during drilling. LICI also organized two Abbeville Red iris plantings at the park’s boardwalk swamp in the week leading up to the well installation.

• Latanier Cookers, a Dutch oven cooking group that holds monthly demonstrations at the park, for their generous donation to the project.

Fred Villien is shown planting irises in the boardwalk swamp in 2023.

• Fred Villien, a local resident who made a substantial donation to cover most of the irrigation well costs. Over the years he has supported many park projects, including the complete rebuilding of the boardwalk in 2016.