Knowing your footprint (Cypress Mulch)

[Katherine]

Knowing your footprint (CYPRESS MULCH)

Something I have consistently wanted to mention since joining the forum…
First let me say that I do not want to step on anyone’s toes and I can absolutely appreciate the challenge of finding a suitable substrate in which to keep exotic pets. I know in my own life, I have often contributed to negative-impact causes unknowingly and wish I could have been more aware at the time so I might have chosen different options. All I am looking to do with this post is to enlighten people who may not already be aware, not asking you to change anything or suggesting that your substrate choice is subpar (I have seen it work fantastically for others, but feel there are other options that work just as well). I have noticed that many forum members use and/or advocate the use of Cypress Mulch. I live in the heart of Louisiana, and every bag of Cypress mulch we turn out takes a devastating chunk of our native habitats, natural beauty and culture with it.

Louisiana’s cypress swamps are in SEVERE decline and Cypress logging is NOT a sustainable resource. Many areas of my state, and others around us, that used to be laden with beautiful old growth cypress trees are now barren due to logging for cypress mulch. Aside from the aesthetic wound, we have lost habitats for millions of animals because these gorgeous trees have knobby knees and elevated foliage that provide nesting areas and safe havens for bald eagles, black bears, great blue herons, alligators, snakes and of course (our favorite) TURTLES… just to name a few. Most can imagine what it would take to remove and mulch a 200ft tall, 1000 year old Cypress tree, so we are loosing the microhabitat created by the trees and also suffering from the destruction and pollutants left behind from dragging giant machinery into a once scenic area. Not only that but Cypress swamps are a huge physical barrier for hurricane storm surges, and as they recede or disappear all together the inland areas see a much larger impact from coastal storms, displacing even more wildlife.

Using Cypress Mulch in your vivarium, tortoise table or garden has an EXTREME negative impact ecologically. So much so, that some counties/parishes in Florida and Louisiana have set ordinance restrictions prohibiting the use of Cypress Mulch because of the ecological degradation of its harvest. Again, I am not trying to be an extremist or an alarmist- I just love the swamps and am sad to see so many in decline over cypress logging. I have attached a couple pictures of a beautiful protected pocket of young cypress trees (old ones have all been logged from this swamp, save a few with severe termite damage) so that those of you who have not had the pleasure of viewing these mystical trees in person can get a visual. And please, always consider the source when choosing a substrate.

If anyone wants to see further photographs, images of cypress swamp destruction, read about the ecological impact of this sector of ‘deforestation,’ or explore things you could do to make a difference, there are many great organizations trying to raise awareness including the Waterkeepers Alliance, and the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper.

 

[Jacqui]

A very nice post and I am sure for many, a sad but much needed eye opener.

 

[yagyujubei]

You could make the same argument for almost any wood product. If the state of louisiana loves their swamps so much, why do they allow logging there? It's not that I'm not sympathetic, but it's too late by the time the tree is mulch.

 

[Tom]

Well worded. I did not realize that there was a problem. I have seen the Louisiana cypress swamps and worked in them. Beautiful places. Very peaceful. I saw some logging happening, but I didn't know it was being over-done.

Out here on the West coast cypress mulch is pretty hard to find. I have no problem using orchid bark (which comes from fir trees which are grown for the lumber industry) or coco fiber (by-product from coconut farming).

 

[Jacob]

Interesting, makes sense.

 

[Redstrike]

Katherine,
Thanks for this post, I was not aware of the massively deleterious impacts that southern cypress swamps were enduring for the bags of mulch we see marketed at most hardware stores.


I hope policies that are limiting some localities in FL/LA from felling in Cypress swamps spread to other regions in the future. Yagyujubei - sometimes there is a lag in policy/regulation enforcement when a valuable natural resource is being extracted. I think Katherine articulates this quite nicely above and I find it difficult to question her observations as she lives in the effected regions.

 

[Yvonne G]

But the thing is, its there, in the stores for sale. If I don't buy it someone else is going to. It won't make a bit of difference to the $$ of it if all of us reptile keepers immediately stop buying it because those big bags that you see for sale are marketed towards play grounds. Think of all the mulch they put under the swing sets in the play grounds. Is it so wrong of me to want to keep my tortoises on a substrate that I like? What makes those kids in the playground more deserving of the cypress mulch than my tortoises.

If the cypress trees are being exploited, then something needs to be done to protect them, but if its still in the store for sale, I'm going to buy it.

 

[Len B]

There is as Park a few miles from my Maryland house that is one of the most northern cypress swamps in the country and I like to go and spend some time there and relax and just enjoy being there,I even planted 14 bald cypress trees in a wet area on my property,hoping they would grow,no real good results though (yet). So I can understand your love for them, but I think the same way as Yvonne G. does, if it is in a bag I will buy it.The park is Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, worth a trip for any one close. Len

 

[Lulu]

I think that the idea is that the fewer people that use it, the less demand, and the fewer trees cut down. That's usually how these things work. Find an alternative and advocate for it, so that others use that alternative, which also leads to less demand. For example, I am trying really hard to use my reusable steel bottle because I want to decrease demand for plastic bottles and maybe keep some from being eaten by fish and sea turtles. I know I'm not doing that by myself. However, I feel a personal responsibility not to contribute to the problem, and if everyone felt that it was someone else's responsibility, nothing could get accomplished at all.

Thanks, katherine. I don't actually use much cypress mulch because they don't sell it in the home improvement stores here, and it's expensive in the pet stores. However, I have used it in the past, I will endeavor to refrain from using it in the future. I was not aware of its negative impact. Thank you for informing me.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Excellent opening post and thread. Cypress swamps are indeed in decline, making cypress mulch the less green choice for a substrate, despite its ability to provide humidity to an enclosure. Fortunately, there are other options out there: coconut coir, orchid bark, and even soil.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Interesting position.

 

[Neal]

Sorry my post is off topic, just wanted to comment on the last picture...are you an avid canoe-er?

Just picked up the hobby not too long ago, but more whitewater type canoeing. Did 11 miles today and I'm beat.

 

[jackrat]

Just curious,what part of Louisiana are you in,if you don't mind my asking? I moved from the Breaux Bridge-St. Martinville area. Lots of old growth cypress there,huge trees.

 

[TylerStewart]

But the thing is, its there, in the stores for sale. If I don't buy it someone else is going to. It won't make a bit of difference to the $$ of it if all of us reptile keepers immediately stop buying it because those big bags that you see for sale are marketed towards play grounds. Think of all the mulch they put under the swing sets in the play grounds. Is it so wrong of me to want to keep my tortoises on a substrate that I like? What makes those kids in the playground more deserving of the cypress mulch than my tortoises.

If the cypress trees are being exploited, then something needs to be done to protect them, but if its still in the store for sale, I'm going to buy it.

I tend to agree with Yvonne on this one.... I do understand that demand is going to require more trees cut eventually, but I was under the impression (and my thoughts seem to be correct after a quick 5 minute Google search) that mulch is made from the leftovers of trees that are cut for carpentry (furniture). I'm not sure how much cypress is used for furniture, but if it is at all, that's gotta be the main motivation for cutting down the trees. When you take a round tree and are trying to cut rectangular strips of wood out of it, you end up with a lot of "wasted" wood. This scrap is made into mulch. As cheap as mulch sells per bag in places like Florida (less than $2, apparently), it wouldn't even make economic sense to cut the trees only to shred them into mulch. 500 pounds worth of nice clean planks of wood fetch a much higher dollar amount than 500 pounds of mulch would. I would guess that the trees are being cut for their planks of wood, and those of us using cypress mulch aren't a driving factor in it.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hmmmm...guess I'll have to consider stopping the use of cypress mulch...pity, 'cause it's a great substrata for indoor use.

 

[TaraDodrill]

Thanks for the environmental info. I have spent a little time in LA. And FL swamps and have marveled at the Cypress Trees and Cypress "knees". It's illegal to cut them down in Florida.

 

[ripper7777777]

I can see both sides of the argument, but in all reality if everyone world wide stopped buying Cypress mulch, the by product and immature trees would be used for something else, fuel, toilet paper, something. It's the lumber they are really after, mulch is just an added revenue.

The only thing that will help is getting politics to regulate the lumber industry, maybe prohibit cutting down new growth along with restricting how much is cut down. I know some lumber companies up north have to avoid new growth and work around it. If the lumber industry is regulated and controlled to keep the forest sustainable and only uses the byproducts of the mill to make mulch than mulch prices will rise and the use will drop.


But not buying mulch won't do it, not as long as the lumber company can go after the lumber. You gotta get the politicians to create the laws to stop it, otherwise high end lumber will still be taken from the swamps.