Is it time for a serious, unbiased, comprehensive look at the way Louisiana manages and administers our great outdoor resources? I say yes.
The management system of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission have been around a long time and doing it in many of the old ways. Why? Because we’ve always done it the same old way.
Maybe it’s time for a new look.
The sportsmen of Louisiana deserve better. So do our resources. And even more so, the many dedicated and hard working employees of the department deserve a work environment that encourages them to flourish on their merits and be proactive and accountable in their approaches.
The truth is, today’s management of wildlife and fisheries is based from the top down on the politics of the day and good-buddy political appointments. That ends badly in a number of ways, from stifling of ideas and progress to embarrassment for the whole department. It surely doesn’t look good that our last two politically appointed Secretaries have resigned amid serious controversy. It’s amazing the department accomplishes as much it does.
A better way?
Maybe there’s a better way, Louisiana. Doesn’t it at least deserve discussion?
The LDWF is a complex organization. It’s too complex to function properly in today’s world when it suffers from serious political hypoxia. In plain English, that means it’s choking on its own politics. It’s not all bad, but there’s plenty to work on. There are a whole lot of good people in the department, which if allowed and motivated, could be the key to setting this ship on the right course. It would give public confidence and morale within the department a big boost. But today, consider these issues of public concern:
- Populations of saltwater treasures redfish and speckled trout are in trouble. Loss of habitat seems to be the biggest villain. Management solutions are often bantered about, then just shelved in. The longer we delay real long-term solutions, the worse the long-term effect is. Who is working to bring the parties together? It should be LDWF/LWFC leadership.
- The virtual demons of coastal waste, pogie boats, continue to destroy fish resources and precious habitat every day. Louisiana is the last state to allow this. Others take firm stands on pogie operations. They must watch in awe and wonder as Louisiana takes a three monkey approach — see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
- The effort to restock black bears in Louisiana and establish a hunting season has grown into an epic fail from the sportsman’s standpoint, unless you are a bear. Bears damage whitetail deer hunting in the state. They are a major nuisance in more and more areas. Bear-human contact is getting far more close and common. Talk of a hunting season is hushed by fear tactics. More waiting means more trouble.
- Chronic Wasting Disease reared it’s ugly head in Louisiana. It was inevitable. Nobody really knows what to do. There’s a lot of testing and good rules about handling deer in affected areas, but we need to push for more attention and timely aggressive management approaches. Now.
- Destructive feral hogs, present in all 64 parishes, are way beyond out of control. Private citizens, on their own dime with no help from the state, are trying to help. The LWFC sent a wish to Washington for the EPA to approve experimental poison. Don’t hold your breath. Again, we wait. And things grow worse.
- Many lakes around the state are overcome with giant salvinia. Prevention and management of invasive aquatic vegetation is reactive, not proactive. At this point, there isn’t much to be done except drain and complain.
- In 2022, LDWF got needed hunting license changes passed, but they failed to mention the fine print including requiring every little kid in the state to have to buy a hunting license. That didn’t sit too well with the public. Transparency is needed when LDWF proposes legislation. Sportsmen are generally willing to pay for what they get. If they felt they got more, a majority would be willing to pay more. But they want to know where the money is going and for what. We seldom get those answers.
- Technology today allows everyday fishermen to ride and scan an entire lake to see fish populations with live sonar. LDWF fish population sampling is still done mainly by standing at the boat ramp with a clipboard asking anglers, “how many did you catch today?” or electroshocking certain areas and counting what floats up.
- The department needs to do a much better job of educating the outdoor public on key issues like these all year long. That includes a comprehensive look at the “hows” and “whys” of everything outdoors in the state. This could be modeled after the highly successful hunter education program.
Only real choice
The only real choice for a makeover is to get so much politics out of it, more professional management in it and more common-sense public involvement.
If that can’t be done, then we need to at least demand better choices for Secretary and on the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. There should be strict vetting and public input. Today, we could even have a secretary or commission members who have never owned a Louisiana hunting or sports fishing license and don’t know bear scat about the outdoors. And nobody would know.
We could look to other complex states that have found successful methods to manage the same type of issues we have.
The Commission is under the control of commercial interests, which is built right into its ancient legal creation, which essentially remains the same today as when it was conceived back in 1952. Here in the “Sportsman’s Paradise,” we are set up for preferential treatment of commercial interests. Commercial fishing is vastly important, but that shouldn’t overshadow everything else.
The solution? Release the LDWF and LWFC from overbearing political shackles. Install a business-like approach and coordinated effort with people working together to make the whole spectrum of our outdoors important in word, deed and funding.
Changes would have to start with legislative action and funding for a third-party look at the way we do things. The agency isn’t going to do this on its own.
Sportsmen play a critical part. If you don’t ask for it, it will never happen. From one end of the state to the other, concerned sportsmen should let your elected officials know that they think Louisiana deserves better. And here’s a brazen idea: Why don’t our elected officials who are sportsmen stand up and lead the charge.
There’s an election for Governor in 2023. We’ve seen in all-too-many of the wrong ways that elections have consequences. Wouldn’t it be nice to elect leadership in this state willing to open discussions, lead tough changes, rock the boat and open season on the elephant in our outdoors?
Or, we can just sit on the dock of the bay with some boiled crabs and a beer, talk about days gone by and watch the sun set, leaving behind the opportunity to move the Sportsman’s Paradise forward for our kids and grandkids.
Your voice matters. If you care, use it.
