Manchac Wildlife Management Area is an 8,328-acre protected swampland in southeastern Louisiana within the Pontchartrain Basin. Purchased in 1975 and managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, it preserves a meeting ground of coastal marsh, open water, wet prairie, and remnant swamp forest. Its flat marshes and swamps are reached mainly by water, and features include The Prairie, a 500-acre shallow freshwater pond near Lake Pontchartrain. The area supports fish, alligators, waterfowl, marsh birds, and raptors, along with marsh and swamp vegetation. It also includes Southeastern Louisiana University’s Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station and is used for canoeing, kayaking, bird watching, and fishing.