Pon Dixson

Portrait by Romero & Romero

Growing up in D’Arbonne in northern Louisiana, Pon Dixson listened to music from artists like Muddy Waters and B.B. King and received a love of nature from his parents. His mother was an avid birder and his father was a hunter and a fisherman. He would grow up to turn those loves into careers. He is a project leader at Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans East and an accomplished guitarist who recently performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with The Bester Singers and The Dynamic Smooth Family of Slidell.

The now 61-year-old wildlife biologist has been working at Bayou Sauvage since Hurricane Katrina. It is a place that is near and dear to his heart.

“Bayou Sauvage is special because we have a 30,000-acre wildlife habitat within the New Orleans city limits,” Dixson said. “It provides urban dwellers a chance to enjoy nature and wildlife.”

Dixson noted that other cities have wildlife refuges near the city limits or partially inside city limits, but Bayou Sauvage is unique because it rests entirely within a major city. It especially offers a lot to birders. The refuge’s South Point sees thousands of birds stop by to orient themselves on their way south to migrate for the winter and on their return as well.

“The species diversity is unrivaled in the United States,” Dixson said.

Conservation efforts are an important part of Dixson’s job. He has helped with initiatives like the Christmas tree project. Discarded New Orleans Christmas trees were bundled and taken to Bayou Sauvage to rebuild marsh habitat. Dixson said several acres of new marsh have  grown because of the project.

Dixson also has other projects he is working on. Later this year, a project will begin to dredge material out of Lake Pontchartrain and put it on the coastline of the Lake Catherine community. A variety of trees (cypress, live oaks, mulberries and others) are being planted on 1400 acres of land in New Orleans East. Planting new trees will help the climate by sequestering carbon and it will support a broader variety of songbirds.

Dixson is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others, whether those people are journalists, visitors to Bayou Sauvage or college students. He particularly enjoys offering advice to young Black students interested in pursuing a career in wildlife and fisheries. He also likes dispelling myths about feared creatures like snakes, alligators and spiders and explaining why they are valued members of our ecosystem.

“I love meeting people and telling them about wildlife and why a healthy ecosystem is important,” Dixson said.

As for his music, Dixson has been playing at Jazz Fest since 2009. He mostly plays gospel music but also plays blues and southern soul. Even though he is a seasoned Jazz Fest veteran at this point, he said he still gets butterflies in his stomach and chills down his spine when he plays there.

“It’s exhilarating to get out there and see all these people from all facets of society and from across the globe. I’m just a boy from D’Arbonne, Louisiana on an international stage,” Dixson said. “It’s an honor.”