Sicily Island Hills

Snakes, you either love them or hate them. Several species inhabit the Sicily Island Hills. The photograph below is of canebrake rattlesnake observed in April by Kelby Ouchley and friends along the road near the trail head to Rock Falls.

Photograph courtesy of Kelby Ouchley

Snake bites or other injuries that could occur as you trek the rough terrain of the Sicily Island Hills, are all the more reason why it is highly advisable not to travel alone in this area. The help of a friend during a serious situation in these remote hills could save your life. Learning how to deal with snake bites is something too many people put off. Know before you go out in the woods.

Refer to my September 30, 2009 post  for more information on snakes in the Sicily Island Hills. See Archives on left hand side of this page.

What better moments are there in life than sharing beautiful surroundings with your friends?

Photo courtesy of Kelby Ouchley

My friend Kelby Ouchley informed me that during his groups visit to Sicily Island Hills in April that Southern Magnolia, Cockspur hawthorn, Phlox, and lingering Trilliums were in bloom. Additionally, Ebony jewelwing damselflies, and turkeys were seen as well.

On April 21, 2012 the Monroe News Star featured an article about the Sicily Island Hills.

With the kind permission of the News Star, you can link to the article on my Resources page, under the heading: Sources of information on the Sicily Island Hills.

The hyperlink is in red or depending on your browser or device it may appear another color.

I just received correspondence from Lowery Moak of the Sicily Island Hills WMA office with news about the wma. The adult lottery turkey hunt will be wrapping up at Easter and he predicts the  number of turkeys harvested on the wma will be about average, in the range of 6 to 8 birds. He also reported that 3 turkeys were harvested during the annual youth lottery hunt.

The amount of rainfall is about average lately, but the drier, hotter months of summer are ahead.

From a scientific perspective, a southern pine beetle monitoring project will be beginning soon and a group from the University of Louisiana-Monroe will be conducting a herpetology study this spring as well.

Lowery informed me that Clyde Thompson, the technician at the wma, retired in February. I personally would like to thank Clyde for all his hard work at the wma and for his generous answers to my questions over the years. The new technician at Sicily Island Hills is named Kenneth Cowart, and I wish him well in his work at SIHWMA. Without gentlemen like Clyde, Kenneth, Lowery and more, the wildlife management area would not be the place it is today.

The tireless correspondent of the Sicily Island Hills, my son Landon Powers, successfully returned in one piece from a tour of duty in Afghanistan recently. For that, I am very thankful.

For many years botantists have roamed the Sicily Island Hills to document the plant life there. The first known recording of plant life here is that of Clarendon Peck. See my Photos/Map page for his observations

Later, scientists from NLSC, later known as NLU  and now ULM, plus others from LSU and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries detailed their findings. Much of that work is displayed on the lower half of my Geography page on this site, see Geography tab.

Now, the latest to journey across these hills is Chris Reid of the Louisiana Natural Heritage Program. And even though his investigation of plant life here is a work in progress, Chris was kind enough to share his preliminary information for use on this website. The following spread sheet is rather lengthy and will be growing as new data is acquired.

The Sicily Island Hills are a great place to go camping but you will be more comfortable if you bring an RV.  Primitive camp sites with no facilities await the visitor. So if you want a bathroom, electricity or water, you must bring your own. Travelers within this wildlife management area (wma) encounter generally good gravel roads. Due to seasonal heavy down pours road conditions are subject to change but that is not a reflection on the wma staff.  Rather, the soils and the climate of these hills are game changers.

The southern entrance off of LA 8 to the area is quite different and the situation limits the size of your RV. After entering the wildlife management area, the driver will soon find a moderately steep hill with a curve. Additionally, the gravel is loose making travel difficult, so larger RV’s are not advised. I do not know a hard-and-fast rule for how large a rig you can take into this wma. To suggest a size would be speculation. Personally, I have visited these hills dozens of times and never seen a vehicle larger than a full-size pick up truck. If you visit the Sicily Island Hills for the first time it might be wise to come in a pick up and evaluate the roads yourself. Should you be coming from a great distance, you might call the staff ahead of time to inquire about road conditions.

The north side entrance to the Sicily Island Hills WMA provides better access for motor homes and trailers.