PLAQUEMINE — When visitors hit the water in the Atchafalaya Basin near Plaquemine, they get more than a tour of the Louisiana swamp. They also learn why the wetland matters and what it stands to lose.

Last Wilderness Swamp Tours, a family-owned operation in business since 2000, aims to go beyond sightseeing. Owner Dean Wilson said he wants visitors to grasp the basin's ecological role and why its preservation remains urgent.

"The Atchafalaya Basin is severely threatened," said Wilson, who also works for the nonprofit Atchafalaya BasinKeeper. "The Atchafalaya Basin is very important for Louisiana's future because it protects from flooding."

Wilson's bond with the swamp formed decades ago. After growing up in Spain, he traveled to Louisiana at about age 21 and spent four months living off the land in the basin.

"I stayed in the swamp for four months with only my bow, arrows, and a spear, and I just fell in love with the place. The first time I saw the cypress trees in the water and the beautiful egrets flying like angels above the water, the green, the water, everything together, the blue of the sky... I just fell in love with it, so I stayed here," Wilson said.

"It's important for the culture, the birds, the ecology and tourism, but even more important than that is for the survival of south-central Louisiana," he added.

The excursions draw travelers from across the globe, including visitors from as far as Japan. Pastor Mark Thomas of Canada recently took the tour and spotted his first wild alligator.

"It was pretty cool," Thomas said. "Definitely something to go back home and talk about."

For Wilson, sharing those experiences remains the driving force behind the business.

"The main reason we started to do this kind of work is not that we are trying to make a profit. We do it because we love the Atchafalaya Basin," he said.