‘Gators and snakes and bugs, oh my! That's the perception many people have of the Louisiana bayou, but biologist and wetland ecologist Paul Wagner, Ph.D, of Honey Island Swamp Tours aims to smash such stereotypes for those who take his natural history tour into the Nature Conservancy's First Louisiana Nature Preserve.

“There are a lot of misconceptions people have about swamps,” says Wagner. “We enjoy changing their preconceived notions. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. There's no problem with mosquitoes, the alligators don't eat you, there are very few poisonous snakes — most of them are water snakes. People just enjoy, I think, changing their misconceptions about the swamp — how beautiful it is, how peaceful and serene.”

The tour is a two-hour educational adventure by boat into the Louisiana wetlands.

“We educate people a lot about the value of wetlands and we talk a lot about human impacts on wetlands because that's what I was trained to do,” Wagner says.

Though many of his counterparts take a more theatrical approach to their tours, Wagner maintains a scientific, objective view of the swamp.

“There is a legend, a myth about a swamp monster. Most swamps have myths about them. I think that's all it is, is a myth,” he says, continuing, “They call it the Honey Island Swamp Monster. I really think that anybody with any real intelligence doesn't really believe in it, but you have to have an open mind about strange things because there are many species we still don't know about on earth.”

Tours to the wetlands ship out daily from Crawford Landing at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $20 by reservation only. Visit www.honeyislandswamp.com for more information or call 504/643-3960 for reservations.

Contact the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitor's Bureau at 504/566-5011 or visit www.neworleanscvb.com for information on additional tours of Louisiana swamps.