Central Louisiana | |
---|---|
Region | |
Cenla | |
Country | United States |
State | Louisiana |
Largest city | Alexandria |
Central Louisiana (French: Centre du Louisiane), also known as the Crossroads, is a region of the U.S. state of Louisiana.
The largest communities in the region as of the 2010 Census were Alexandria (47,893), Natchitoches (18,323) and Pineville (14,555).
Central Louisiana is a land of physical and cultural diversity. Extensive prairies, piney hill region known as the Louisiana Central Hill Country, minor swamplands and deciduous forests make up its geography. It also has clear streams with sandy bottoms and large rivers that carry waterborne freight.
There is one Combined Statistical Area, one Metropolitan Statistical Area, and four Micropolitan Statistical Areas that include Central Louisiana parishes.
The economic region is Kisatchie-Delta, described as the Sixth State Planning District for the State of Louisiana, including parishes collectively bordered on the east by the Mississippi River, on the west by the Sabine River, with the Red River traversing northwest to southeast into the Atchafalaya, and the Four Rivers at Jonesville (Ouachita, Little, Black, and Trinity) merging, and the waters joining together at the northern end of America's Swamp, the Atchafalaya Basin and Heritage Area. The predominately rural region has a more urban center of twin cities, Alexandria and Pineville, literally in the middle of Louisiana. The area's growing seasons are benefitted by a "frostline" location, so soils and the climate can support both cotton and sugarcane.
These crossroads initially began in the 1800s as settlers migrated West and have designation as the Louisiana Colonial Trails Scenic Byways, including the historic El-Camino Real East-West Corridor. The Louisiana Colonial Trails Association is the corridor manager and a demonstrated regional partnership that celebrates the "crossroads of cultures" by partnering organizations voluntarily collaborating throughout central Louisiana, including the Alexandria-Pineville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Avoyelles Commission on Tourism, the Vernon Parish Tourism, Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning & Development District, the Kent House, the Louisiana Political Museum (and Hall of Fame) at Winnfield, and others in the region. Generally, the region includes Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Rapides, Vernon and Winn Parishes, with some organizations also sharing Allen or Natchitoches Parish in their service areas, and less often also Beauregard Parish in the "cenLa" description.
This region's crossroads of cultures and early transportation routes influenced its foundations in historical economic assets. grown locally from its piney woods and delta (Mississippi, Red, and Sabine Rivers) natural resources to forge into strongholds of agricultural and timber production. Over time, significant roles for centralized public activities and services with AEX, the ports at Central Louisiana Regional Port (Alexandria, LA), Vidalia, and Simmesport, alongside the military history and government activities (former Fort Polk, historic (closed) England Air Force Base, Camp Claiborne, and former Camp Beauregard) contributed to a center of activity and local services, leading to a concentration of educational and medical services and associated employment. Commercial air service and industrial development were launched at the former EAFB through the England Air Park, to convert the BRAC-closed facility into an economic development asset, and a component of the multi-modal assets, also served by the Central Louisiana Regional Port and its activated Foreign Trade Zone-subzone. This regional center also has a concentration of higher education including Louisiana State University at Alexandria and Central Louisiana Technical and Community College, a satellite campus of the Northwestern State University at England Airpark (formerly the Learning Center), and Louisiana Christian University in Pineville, LA. References to the economic history are located in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, as prepared by the Economic Development District: Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning & Development District.(See also, CEDS ONLINE: KISATCHIE-DELTA REGIONAL STRATEGY for a 'living' version of the region's CEDS.)
Central Louisiana consists of the following 10 parishes, with population figures[ when? ] given in parentheses.
Vernon Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,750. The parish seat is Leesville. Bordered on the west by the Sabine River, the parish was founded in 1871 during the Reconstruction era.
Sabine Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,155. The parish seat and largest town is Many.
Rapides Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,023. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. Rapides is the French word for "rapids". The parish was created in 1807 after the United States acquired this territory in the Louisiana Purchase.
Scouting in Louisiana has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
The Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Louisiana in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, United States, is located in the forested piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It is part of the Cenozoic uplands and has large areas of longleaf pine forests. It is one of the largest pieces of natural landscape in Louisiana, with some 604,000 acres (2,440 km2) of public land, more than half of which is vital longleaf pine and flatwoods vegetation. These support many rare plant and animal species. There are also rare habitats, such as hillside seepage bogs and calcareous prairies. The forest also contains and provides a buffer for the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, a nationally designated wilderness area that contributes to protecting biodiversity of the coastal plain region of the United States.
Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp in the 1930s continuing through World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Eighth Service Command, and included 23,000 acres (93 km²). The camp was just north of the town of present-day Forest Hill, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 165 and Louisiana Highway 112.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division (LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department's Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a "game warden", Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state's commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state's waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.
The Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal are the intermediate appellate courts for the state of Louisiana.
The 2000 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 7, 2000, and was part of the 2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1992 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 3, 1992, as part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The Louisiana black bear, one of 16 subspecies of the American black bear, is found in parts of Louisiana, mainly along the Mississippi River Valley and the Atchafalaya River Basin. It was classified as 'threatened' under the U.S. Endangered Species Act from 1992–2016. The validity of this subspecies has been repeatedly debated.
The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is a Federal-State partnership whose mission it is to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Mississippi Delta. The Delta Regional Authority serves 252 counties and parishes in parts of eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Led by a Federal Co-Chairman appointed by the President and the governors of the eight states, the DRA fosters partnerships throughout the region as it works to improve the Delta economy. DRA funds can be used to leverage other federal and state programs.
The 1996 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 5, 1996. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1976 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose ten representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The state of Louisiana has 42 district courts, with each serving at least one parish.
The 1972 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose ten electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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