Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is a state agency of Louisiana that maintains state wildlife and fishery areas. The agency is headquartered in the capital city of Baton Rouge. [1]

Contents

Mission

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is assigned the responsibility of managing, conserving, promoting, and supervision of Louisiana's renewable fish and wildlife resources and their supporting habitats, through the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 Article IX, Section 7 and in revised statutes under Title 36 and Title 56. [2]

History

The LDWF was formerly known as the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission.

Divisions

Programs


Waterfowl Program

The LDWF participates in the Waterfowl Program that includes waterfowl-wetlands management, research, and monitoring. Two biologists coordinate the program, the Waterfowl Study Leader and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). The program offers technical assistance to improve wetland habitat on both public and private land that includes providing food for wintering geese and ducks, nest sites, brooding habitat, for breeding wood ducks. Biologists form the Mississippi Flyway Council Technical Committee [3] collects technical data used to set annual waterfowl hunting regulations. [4]

HIP

Louisiana, as well as all other states such as Texas, [5] participate in the HIP Program. This is an acronym for Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program that is operated jointly by each state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), for anyone wanting to hunt ducks, coots, geese, brant, swans, doves, band-tailed pigeons, woodcock, rails, snipe, sandhill cranes, or gallinules, all hunters must register, and the information is used to provide statistics on waterfowl harvesting in the US. [6]

State law grants broad powers to LDWF officers concerning any aspect of wildlife in the state. Officers have a right to visit, inspect records and search, with or without a search warrant, "any cold storage plant, warehouse, boat, store, car, conveyance, automobile or other vehicle, airplane or other aircraft, basket or other receptacle, or any place of deposit for wild birds, wild quadrupeds, fish, or other aquatic life or any parts thereof whenever there is probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred". [7]

This includes "public restaurants, public and private markets, stores, and places where wild birds, game quadrupeds, fish, or other aquatic life or any parts thereof may be kept and offered for sale, for the purpose of ascertaining whether any laws or regulations under the jurisdiction of the department have been violated." This also includes inspecting commercial licenses required for retail and/or wholesale of commercial fish and bait fish. [8]

The "search with or without warrant" provision, involving any wildlife with or without cause, extends to private property, even if fenced and posted with no trespassing signs, using the "open fields doctrine", per Hester v. United States and Oliver v. United States, and does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or the Louisiana Constitution. The Second Circuit of the Court of Appeal of Louisiana concluded that there is no expectation of privacy where hunting and fishing are allowed, and agents can enter property without suspicion.

The "balancing test", the "promotion of legitimate governmental interests against the intrusion of the procedure" (authority for application is Johnson v. United States (2015)), [9] was provided in Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979). United States v. Greenhead, Inc., 256 F. Supp. 890 (N.D. Cal. 1966), affirms that agents can enter a locked gate, without any suspicion of criminal wrongdoing. [10]

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (LWFF) was formed December 14, 1995, as a 501(C)(3) tax exempt nonprofit public charitable foundation. The purpose is to aid the LDWF in a broad range of areas, including financial support, in habitat conservation. The foundation receives no funding from the State of Louisiana or the LDWF so is dependent on contributions from private and corporate donations. [11]

The Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area Wham Brake enhancement project (Wham Brake Hydrology Enhancement) was completed June 20, 2017. The project was a joint partnership between the LDWF, Ducks Unlimited (DU), LWFF, the Walker Foundation, Biedenharn Foundation, International Paper and other DU sponsors that support America's River Initiative. A North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant of $1,000,000 was matched with partner contributions of $2,100,000 to improve 3,500 acres of wetland habitat with an impacted area of 8,547 acres. [12]

See also

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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division (LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department's Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a "game warden", Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state's commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state's waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.

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Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1988 to protect the Mississippi/Red River floodplain ecosystem. The refuge is located in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, east central Louisiana. The refuge is named for its most prominent water body, the 350-acre (1.4 km2) Lake Ophelia that was at one time a channel of the nearby Red River of the South.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge</span>

The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge is a large area of marshland in Cameron Parish and Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was donated to the state with certain provisions as to its management as a wildlife sanctuary. It is a biodiverse habitat and is visited annually by many migratory birds. Much research is undertaken into marshland management and alligator ranching, and the income from the sale of alligators contributes to conservation of the marshland.

The Richard K. Yancey Wildlife Management Area, formerly the Red River/Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area, is a 70,872-acre (28,681 ha) tract of protected area in lower Concordia Parish, Louisiana. The area is owned by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE). The WMA is located off LA 15 approximately 35 miles (56 km) south of Ferriday between the Red River and the Mississippi River.

White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area (WLWCA), officially the White Lake Property, is a 71,905-acre tract of protected area located 7.4 miles (11.9 km) south of Gueydan at the south end of Louisiana Highway 91 in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.

Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area is a 112,615-acre (45,574 ha) tract of protected area located in parts of Ascension, Livingston, St. John the Baptist, St. James and Tangipahoa Parishes, Louisiana encircling three sides of Lake Maurepas.

Peason Ridge Wildlife Management Area, also referred to as Peason Ridge WMA, is a 74,309-acre tract of protected area located in the Parishes of Natchitoches, Sabine, and Vernon, in the state of Louisiana. The WMA is managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

Joyce Wildlife Management Area is a 42,292 acres (17,115 ha) protected area in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, owned by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It is located 10 miles (16 km) south of Hammond and features a boardwalk leading into the swamps on the northwest corner.

References

  1. Home. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Retrieved on July 27, 2010. "2000 Quail Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 765-2800."
  2. - Retrieved 2017-02-22
  3. Mississippi Flyway Council- Retrieved 2017-02-23
  4. Waterfowl Program- Retrieved 2017-02-23
  5. Texas HIP Program: Texas Parks and Wildlife; Outdoor Annual - Retrieved 2016-02-25
  6. Louisiana HIP Program- Retrieved 2017-02-25
  7. LDWF: Search with or without warrant- Retrieved 2017-03-23
  8. LDWF: Search with or without warrant- Retrieved 2017-03-23
  9. Louisiana Law Review: Volume 53, Number 2, pp 529 (November 1992)
  10. Findlaw: Cason v. State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries- Retrieved 2017-03-23
  11. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation- Retrieved 2017-07-16
  12. Louisiana NAWCA Projects- Retrieved 2017-07-16