Conservationist Matt Conn bought 67 acres of damaged Louisiana land. For a decade, he personally rebuilt it; the restored wetland had recovered diverse native vegetation and multiple ecosystems

Matt Conn bought 67 acres of damaged Louisiana land. For a decade, he personally rebuilt it; the restored wetland had recovered diverse native vegetation and multiple ecosystems

What if restoring a piece of damaged land meant spending years simply giving nature a chance to return? That was the challenge Matt Conn took on when he purchased 67 acres near Lydia in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The property had once supported a diverse wetland beneath mature oaks, cypress, and tupelos, but by the time Conn acquired it, the trees had been cleared and invasive plants had taken over, as per Country Roads Magazine.

Over the following decade, Conn cleared invasive species, planted native trees and plants, created ponds and walking trails, and gradually helped the property regain its ecological diversity. What emerged was not a manicured landscape, but a living wetland shaped by native vegetation, wildlife, water and the natural rhythm of the seasons.

What Did Matt Conn Find When He Bought the Land?

When Matt Conn first encountered the property, it was almost the opposite of the landscape he wanted to create. The 67 acres had previously been cleared, leaving behind land that had become heavily overgrown with invasive species. Among the biggest problems were Chinese tallow trees, commonly known as "chicken trees," which had spread throughout the property.

“When I purchased the property, the first year, it was basically an invasive forest—just tens of thousands of tallow trees,” said Conn. “We had to experiment. By far, helicopter spray killed the most—” ninety-five percent, in fact.

The work was not simply about making the property look better. Conn understood that removing invasive vegetation was necessary to give native species an opportunity to return.

How Did the Restoration Begin?

Conn's connection to the property began through his professional work. According to Country Roads Magazine, he first encountered the acreage in print while working for a company that had been involved with the site. Conn had a background in Renewable Resources and Environmental Sustainability from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and specialized in understanding wetland systems and identifying jurisdictional wetlands.

His professional experience meant he already understood what needed to happen. “A byproduct of this is that we can locate, identify, and help anyone who intends to impact wetlands to get the proper permits and mitigate [that impact] properly,” he explained. “We also work on coastal restoration projects, private wetland restoration projects. We help locate, plan, permit, monitor, and manage many mitigation banks for clients.”

In 2009, Conn was working as the supervisor of an ecological division when the MA Patout Sugar Mill hired him to restore the protected wetlands. The land had been drained and cleared for planned sugar cane cultivation without the required permits, according to the Country Roads Magazine. Conn was brought in as part of the restoration effort. Then the property itself became available.

Why Did Conn Decide to Buy the Damaged Property?

The mill eventually put the land up for sale, and Conn decided to purchase it. There was an obvious advantage: he already knew what needed to be done. There was also a considerable responsibility. The restoration that Conn had originally been consulting on would now become his own personal project. “I knew what needed to be done because I was the consultant ... but I had to invest time, sweat, and labor into physically doing restoration myself.”

The timing made the commitment even more difficult. Conn said he thinks there was only a day and a half between buying the property and leaving the country for his second deployment to Baghdad. He would spend a year away before returning home and beginning the physical restoration. That meant the project would unfold slowly, through years of work rather than a quick transformation.

What Did It Take to Rebuild the Wetland?

The first five years involved much of the hardest work. Conn attacked the invasive vegetation using a combination of bush hogs, machetes and even helicopters. Chinese tallow trees had become so dominant that simply planting native species would not have been enough.

The restoration also involved breaking a levee, planting seeds and seedlings, creating ponds and clearing trails.

Later, Conn received assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, which helps private landowners undertake large-scale conservation projects.

“Breaking the levee and replanting would have gotten it out of the violation,” he said. “But I did a little extra. It just takes time to mature. I want to see a natural patch of woods without all those invasives.”

That additional effort became central to the property's eventual transformation.

What Returned to the 67 Acres?

By 2021, roughly a decade after Conn began restoring the land, the property had changed dramatically.

The acreage had become home to more than 18,000 native trees spread across three distinct ecotypes: tidal fresh marsh, tidal flooded pothole bottomland hardwood, and coastal prairie.

The Acadiana Native Plant Society recognized the property as a gold-level Louisiana Certified Habitat in 2021.

The variety of life found there also expanded well beyond trees.

According to the Country Roads Magazine, Conn had documented more than 200 native plant species, 195 different kinds of native birds, 10 species of frogs, nine species of snakes and three species of turtles.

The names of some of the species found on the property sound almost whimsical: sedge wrens, false foxglove and ironweed.

The land that had once been dominated by invasive vegetation had become a collection of different habitats supporting a much broader range of native life.

Why Didn't Conn Simply Make the Property Look Neat?

One of the most interesting parts of Conn's approach is that restoration did not mean turning the acreage into a perfectly maintained landscape.

In summer, the property can appear dense and almost impenetrable.

Conn described it as “a hot, thorny, overgrown, deer, fly, and mosquito-infested country,” but that apparent disorder is part of what allows the ecosystem to function naturally.

Conn clears areas where people need to move through the property, but otherwise tries not to interfere unnecessarily.

Vines can climb trees. Seeds are carried by the wind. New plants appear without being deliberately placed. Animals move through the acreage on their own.

The goal is not to control every detail. It is to create the conditions in which native life can establish itself and allow the ecosystem to develop.

What Does Going Native Mean for Wildlife?

For Conn, restoring native plants is about much more than aesthetics. “The cool thing about native stuff is if you put them in the right place with the right species and habitat, that’s where it wants to go,” he said. “Going native, you’re helping the ecosystem as a whole. You put native flowers in front flower beds, you’re hoping for native bees and butterflies and maybe birds. Flowers from Asia are really pretty but have no use to the animals. The animals have evolved here for the plants we have here. That’s the problem with lawn domestic plants for people’s yards. They look nice but don’t do anything [beyond] aesthetic.”

That philosophy has shaped the property.

Conn continues to remove invasive plants because they can overwhelm native species, but he does not try to impose a rigid design on the landscape. Instead, he balances active restoration with allowing nature to take over where possible.

The result is a property that continues to change.

How Did Ten Years of Restoration Change the Land?

Conn's restoration demonstrates that ecological recovery can look very different from conventional development.

Instead of replacing the damaged landscape with something new, he worked toward recovering what had been there before. Native trees were planted. Water was returned to appropriate areas. Invasive species were removed. Trails were created where necessary, while much of the remaining land was allowed to develop naturally.

Every year, Conn continues to introduce new species.

His blog, "Turtle Boy and the Birds," serves as a record of what he finds on the property and reflects the ongoing nature of the project.

The land is not considered finished. It is still developing.

What Does the Restoration Mean for Louisiana?

The story of Conn's 67 acres is ultimately about more than one private property.

Louisiana's wetlands provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals, and Conn's work demonstrates what can happen when damaged land is given sustained attention.

The property now contains three different ecotypes and thousands of native trees, while its documented plant and animal diversity shows how much life can return when invasive species are controlled and native habitat is restored.

For Conn, however, conservation is not something reserved for large organizations or government projects.

“Conserving, preserving, and restoring native Louisiana habitat is paramount,” Conn said. “Saving natural resources for our children and their children has never been more important, and no effort is too small.”

From an invasive forest filled with Chinese tallow trees to a diverse landscape containing native marsh, hardwood and prairie habitats, the transformation took years.

But that was precisely the point. Conn did not try to force the land into a finished form. He spent a decade helping remove what was preventing it from recovering, then gave native plants and wildlife the opportunity to take their place.

FAQs

What happened to Matt Conn's 67-acre Louisiana property?

The land near Lydia in Iberia Parish had been cleared and overtaken by invasive Chinese tallow trees. Conn spent years removing the invasive vegetation, restoring water features and planting native species.

What did the restored property become?

By 2021, the property had more than 18,000 native trees across three distinct ecotypes and supported more than 200 native plant species, 195 kinds of native birds, frogs, snakes and turtles.