Why It Matters: Once on the brink of extinction, the Louisiana black bear’s population has rebounded to the point where it must be managed. Beginning in December of 2024, the story of the Louisiana black bear is among the greatest conservation success stories in the southern United States and is a testament to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the role that sportsmen and women play in conservation.
Highlights:
- On April 9, 2024, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Commission voted unanimously to give final approval to the NOI to establish a black bear season, beginning in December 2024.
- 10 tags have been made available for Louisianians to draw through the 2024 Black Bear Lottery, which is open for applications until September 25. The funds generated through the lottery fees and license revenue will go back to the management of the Louisiana black bear.
- The Louisiana black bear season is limited to Bear Area 4 and opens the first Saturday in December and remains open through Sunday following the third Saturday in December.
- Throughout the open comment period offered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its Commission before their final vote, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) maintained and emphasized that hunting is essential to ensuring genetically diverse populations and minimizing human-wildlife conflict.
Science based wildlife management is one of the key tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. As we have seen elsewhere throughout the country, the hunting of black bears, and other charismatic megafauna, has been a contentious topic where opponents of the concept cater to emotion rather than science. Due to population declines resulting from habitat loss and over-hunting, the Louisiana black bear was added to the List of Endangered and Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1992. Since then, through proper management supported in large part by dollars generated by sportsmen and women through the American System of Conservation Funding, the Louisiana black bear was de-listed from the ESA in 2016 where environmentalist groups sued to re-list it. Finally, in 2024, a federal court in Louisiana dismissed the lawsuit, paving the way for the first black bear season in Louisiana since the late 1980s.
To ensure the continuation of sustainable wildlife populations and to ensure that the general public continues to benefit from the immense contributions made by hunters and anglers, it is critical that policymakers take the approach that the LDWF and its Commission took on black bears and make decisions based on science.
CSF will continue to work alongside the LDWF, the Louisiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, and our partners to continue to protect and expand hunting and fishing opportunities in the “Sportsman’s Paradise.”
