The Linda Silmon servitude property encompasses 2 tracts of approximately 1,289 acres total. It includes Wild Horse Bayou and is located in Tensas Parish, about 12 miles northwest of Newellton, Louisiana. The entire servitude property is in the Mississippi River floodplain.
The servitude property is subject to a perpetual Wetlands Reserve Program easement. It is bordered to the north by the Sherman S. Shaw conservation servitude property. To the south, private property separates the land from a portion of Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.
The servitude property was purchased around 1994 by business partners Sherman S. Shaw and Walter Silmon to produce soybeans, milo, and wheat for hunting. In 1996 the property was enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program and reforested to native bottomland hardwoods. Mr. Silmon died in 1999, and all property ownership was transferred to his surviving spouse.
Presently, the property is being managed primarily for hunting. Stands of hardwoods and shallow water areas provide habitat for wildlife. The property is enrolled in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Deer Management Assistance Program.
The property is rich with trumpet creeper, which provides cover for deer and other wildlife, and is also an important food source for deer. Moist-soil impoundments on the servitude provide consistently good duck hunting.
The Louisiana black bear is prominent on this property. The nearby Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge has an estimated population of at least 500 Louisiana black bears.
Shallow water areas and moist-soil impoundments are also home to the American alligator.