State: LA

Contact: Mark Lance, Coordinator, Southeastern States Highlights Why it Matters: Menhaden are a critical part of the coastal ecosystem serving as an important forage food for many recreationally important species such as redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder, among others. The establishment of a menhaden harvest exclusion zone would help conserve menhaden and support Louisiana’s…

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Menhaden are a critical part of the coastal ecosystem serving as an important forage food for many recreationally important species such as redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder, among others.   Louisiana’s recreational anglers have continually expressed concerns about the proximity of industrial purse seines,…

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Passage of HB 535 would help conserve menhaden which are an important forage food for many recreationally important fish species, and HB 691 would better position the LDWF to provide services for sportsmen and women and manage the fish and wildlife resources in the “Sportsman’s…

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights: Why it Matters: Menhaden are an important forage food for many recreationally important species in Louisiana such as redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder, among others. The commercial menhaden harvest also results in tens of millions of pounds of non-target species bycatch annually. HB 535 will enhance the…

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Services for the LDWF’s hunter and angler constituency have declined because of the agency’s lack of funding. The LDWF also faces new conservation challenges – chronic wasting disease, Asian carp, and feral hogs, for example – that require additional management and resources. While most state…

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator On October 22, nearly 90 people, including more than 75 caucus members, representatives from numerous sportsmen’s conservation groups and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, gathered to celebrate Louisiana’s outdoor sporting traditions and discuss issues impacting hunters and anglers in the Pelican State. The bipartisan and bicameral Louisiana Legislative…

Contact: Clay Chester, Southeastern States Coordinator On July 27, Senators Gary Smith and Rick Ward accepted leadership positions for the Louisiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) serving as the Senate Co-Chairs of the Caucus alongside the House Co-Chairs, Representative Vincent Pierre and Speaker Clay Schexnayder. “I look forward to working with Representative Pierre and Speaker Schexnayder…

Contact: Clay Chester, Southeastern States Coordinator Last week, Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Governor John Bel Edwards signed a number of pro-sportsmen’s bills into law. Working alongside conservation partners and the state fish and wildlife agency, the bipartisan Louisiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus), which is led by Co-Chair Representative Vincent Pierre and Speaker Clay Schexnayder, works…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director On June 10, the Joint Natural Resources Committee (Committee) voted (15-0) to disapprove of a regulation proposed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) that would have banned the use of lead ammunition for shotguns on Wildlife Management Area (WMAs) shooting ranges. The proposed rule would…

Contact: Clay Chester, Southeastern States Coordinator The 2020 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned on June 1, and a number of pro-sportsmen’s bills await action by Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Governor John Bel Edwards. Some of the bills on the Governor’s desk include: Wild Game Donations On June 1, legislation sponsored by Louisiana Legislative…

Contact: Clay Chester, Southeastern States Coordinator The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (Commission) recently held their virtual May meeting at which they established parameters for the upcoming red snapper season and discussed proposed regulatory changes. Recreational Red Snapper Season Louisiana (LA) and other states bordering the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) were granted limited state management…

Contact: Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Director During the first weekend in August, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) sponsored the annual Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Louisiana Legislative Rodeo in Grand Isle. CSF’s Fisheries Program Director Chris Horton and Southeastern States Director Bee Frederick attended the event and used it as an opportunity to discuss needed improvements…