Site Preparation & Dirt Work
Building pads, grading, leveling, and drainage shaping — stable, well-drained ground ready for construction, agriculture, or recreation.
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Northeast Louisiana is flat, wet and slow to drain. The Monroe airport gauge averages about 55 inches of rain a year, and much of it arrives in heavy events. On floodplain ground with slopes under one percent, water sits until someone gives it a path. The results are familiar: a driveway that floods at the ditch, a pad that stays soft, a pasture corner that never dries, a plot you cannot get a tractor into until May.
Big Cypress Land & Game builds drainage across Rayville, Monroe, Ruston, Bastrop and across Northeast Louisiana: driveway and access culverts sized and set to grade, ditches cut, reshaped and cleaned out, swales and surface grading that carry water off pads and fields, and outlets that tie into the existing ditch or bayou. It pairs with our site preparation and dirt work, gravel driveways, access roads and pond construction, so the water plan and the dirt plan are the same plan.
The Delta soils under much of our market were built by rivers, and they act like it. Sharkey clay is the classic buckshot ground of the Mississippi floodplain. It runs 60 to 90 percent clay and sits on slopes of less than one percent. In a dry summer it cracks an inch wide and two feet deep, then swells shut when the rain returns and holds water on top. Its type location is a field on US 65 just outside Tallulah. Richland Parish itself splits down the middle. The western half is Ouachita and Boeuf River floodplain at 60 to 75 feet above sea level, with waxy clays along Bayou Lafourche. The eastern half is the Macon Ridge, about 30 feet higher and covered in silt loam.
Water on this ground moves slowly toward the Boeuf River, Bayou Lafourche, Big Creek and Bayou Macon, and every man-made obstacle in that path shows up as a wet spot. An undersized or silted culvert backs water onto the drive. A ditch cut without fall holds water instead of carrying it. A pad graded flat stays soft until July.
A culvert works when three things are right: the pipe is sized to the water the ditch actually carries, the invert sits on grade so the pipe drains instead of holding a puddle, and the bedding and cover match the pipe and the traffic over it. On a parish road the parish road department sizes and permits driveway culverts in its ditch. On a state highway the Louisiana DOTD access connection permit spells out diameter, length and material. We build to what the permit says, then crown the drive over the pipe and armor the ends where the flow is strong.
Ditches and swales get the same treatment: a continuous fall to a real outlet, checked with a level, and sides shaped so a mower or disk can run them. Louisiana law protects the natural flow of water across property lines, so outlets follow the existing drain instead of pushing your problem onto a neighbor. Before any mechanized digging we notify Louisiana 811, which the state requires at least 48 hours ahead. On bottomland tracts we also flag any low spot that could count as a wetland under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act before work starts.
Drained ground is ground you can use in February as well as August. Pads stay firm, roads stop pumping, pastures carry cattle through the wet months, and plots get planted on time. It protects every other improvement on the tract, because rock on a wet subgrade and a slab on a wet pad both fail from the water first. It also shows at sale time: buyers and appraisers walk a property after a rain, and a tract that drains reads as finished land.
Free, no-obligation site evaluations across Northeast Louisiana.
(318) 235-7597Mike owns and improves his own land — adding roads, ponds, food plots, and habitat. We treat your property the way we treat ours: practical, durable, and built to last.
Led by a nationally recognized land specialist with America’s Land Partners ($52.5M+ sold). Every improvement is made with usability, marketability, and long-term property value in mind.
Hands-on USDA and NRCS habitat experience — food plots, shooting lanes, and deer management designed around how game actually uses your land.
Part 107 certified aerial imagery, property mapping, and drone-based deer herd analysis — insight few land-improvement companies can offer.
Based in Northeast Louisiana and licensed across LA, AR & MS with America’s Land Partners — deep regional knowledge of the land, the soil, and the market.
Fully insured for your protection and peace of mind — your property, your project, and your investment are covered from the first pass to the final grade.
Mike has shaped drainage on his own Richland Parish ground and spent three decades in agriculture watching how Delta soils hold and shed water. As a land specialist with America’s Land Partners he sees what a wet, poorly drained tract brings at the closing table against the same acreage drained properly, so the plan gets built for the long haul.
From the first call to the final pass, here’s exactly what working with us looks like.
Fill out our quick estimate form or give us a call. Tell us about your property and what you’re trying to accomplish.
We walk the ground with you, assess the conditions, and talk through the best plan for your land — clearing, improvements, habitat, and access.
You get a straightforward plan and a free, no-obligation estimate — viewed through the lens of usability, wildlife, and long-term value.
Our crew arrives ready to clear, shape, and improve your property with the care of a fellow landowner — and leave it ready for what’s next.
Common questions about drainage & culverts across Northeast Louisiana. Don’t see yours? Give us a call — we’re happy to help.
Drainage & Culverts is one of the specialty services inside Site Preparation & Dirt Work.
Building pads, grading, leveling, and drainage shaping — stable, well-drained ground ready for construction, agriculture, or recreation.
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New recreational, fishing, livestock, ag, and crawfish ponds built — and existing ponds cleaned out and reshaped — sited and shaped to hold water and last.
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House pads, shop pads and barn pads built up with delivered fill, crowned to drain, and ready for the slab.
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Brush, trees, and years of overgrowth cleared and reclaimed — turning unusable acreage back into open, accessible ground that is worth more.
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Access roads, gravel driveways, interior trails, and culvert crossings — all-weather access that makes your land usable and more valuable.
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Food plots, shooting lanes, trail systems, and habitat improvements designed to hold deer and grow healthier game — by a landowner who hunts his own work.
Learn MoreReal words from clients who’ve trusted Mike with their land as a land specialist with America’s Land Partners — the same care and work ethic he brings to every Big Cypress project.
“Mike Martien secured my real estate sale through very difficult circumstances. He went above and beyond what would be expected of any agent. Anyone would be in the best of hands letting Mike work for you and with you.”
“We’ve known Mike for over 30 years. His work ethic and knowledge are exceptional. He’s passionate about helping others, trustworthy, and puts his client’s needs first. We highly recommend him to anyone working with land.”
“Mike has lifelong experience dealing with land management and development. His experience shows in researching current trends and values. For the most appropriate valuations and ease of sales, he can’t be beat.”
What a gravel driveway costs in Louisiana in 2026: price per square foot, rock per ton and yard, truckloads by length, and what moves a quote.
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Read more →Ready to improve, enjoy, or get more value out of your land in Northeast Louisiana? Reach out for a free, no-obligation consultation — and put a fellow landowner’s experience to work on your property. Buying or selling? Mike wears that hat too, as a land specialist with America’s Land Partners.