A Notice of Intent (NOI) amending some hunting regulations for the 2025-2027 seasons was unanimously passed by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at their regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6.
The first amendment clarified what devices a bowhunter could use. With the amendment, the law states, “It is unlawful to hunt with a bow or crossbow equipped with an infrared or laser sight (does not include non-projecting red dot sights) or any sighting device which projects a beam of light to the target or otherwise electronically illuminates the target.”
The next amendment allows air boats on Maurepas Swamp WMA on designated trails. The trails for the airboats came about with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) officials working with the legislature and allows for the larger boats to traverse the waters.
Another NOI amendment moves the Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) lottery deer hunt to the first weekend in December.
During the public comment period about the NOI amendments, one person suggested the current two duck zones be expanded into three zones and a tidal zone.
In response to the comment, LDWF biologist director Dr. Jeff Duguay said officials would “start discussing” the addition of a zone.
Small game dog hunting
Several people during the public comment period talked in favor of increasing the time for squirrel dog season.
One person requested allowing hunting dogs the last three months of the season. He said dogs do not bother larger game.
An agriculture teacher and outdoorsman spoke positively for small game dog hunting. He said small game hunting introduces youth to hunting and called it “the gateway.” He requested the season open Oct. 1 and remain open until Feb. 28.
Commissioners said they would “address squirrel dog hunting.”
LDWF officials received 167 total comments related to the proposed hunting regulation changes. Forty-four comments were pertaining to deer hunting, seven comments were about WMAs, three for waterfowl, two for license regulation change, and one about fishing season.
In a related matter, LDWF also sent out a dove survey to 19,937 individuals. The organization received 2,542 responses or a 13 percent response rate.
Nearly 70 percent of those who responded hunt the north zone while 30 hunt the south zone and 4.4 percent hunt both.
The survey also asked when hunters would like the season to start. In the north zone, 43.3 percent of hunts wanted the season to start the first Saturday in September while 22.9 percent had no preference. Fifty percent of the south zone hunters wanted dove season to begin the first Saturday in September.
Alligator season
Additionally, an NOI, if passed into law, would extend the alligator season.
“It’s a pretty straight forward Notice of Intent to extend the alligator season to the end of the calendar year,” said LDWF Biologist Program Executive Jeb Linscombe.
Historically, alligator season was 30 days long, but three years ago it was lengthen to 60 days long.
“This is about giving landowners the ability to utilize tags and more flexibility,” Linscombe said of the NOI.
The vast majority of the hunting season is for trappers, according to the biologist. But, the extended season would allow guided hunts to be “spread out over a longer period” to get more scheduled hunts.
Comments on the extended alligator season will be accepted through May 1 at 4:30 p.m. and may be submitted directly to Linscombe, LDWF, 200 Dulles Dr., Lafayette, La. 70506 or via email jlinscombe@wlf.la.gov.
CWD
Meanwhile, three additional deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD) have been found. These deer, according to LDWF officials, have been captive in pens permitted by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF).
The recent detections in Concordia, St. Landry and Tangipahoa parishes are linked to trace outs from a captive CWD positive deer pen in Jefferson Davis Parish, where CWD was first confirmed in a captive deer back in November.
In addition to the recent detections, deer from the CWD positive pens have been traced to permitted pens in 11 other parishes. No other positives have been confirmed at this time.
Rebecca Triche, executive director for Louisiana Wildlife Federation, urged commissioners for more communication with the public about CWD.
“There was a lot of chatter last night and this morning with our leadership about the spread maybe being wider than we know,” Triche said. “We should be looking at what action the department should be taking to mitigate spread to wild deer as much as possible.”
She also requested making information related to the spread of CWD more public.
“I’m here to urge the commissioners to ask for an update on this impact and the department’s response,” Triche said. “And, an update on our monitoring CWD and some comments from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and concerns about the notice to the public.”
Commission Chairman Kevin Sagrera assured Triche that the LDWF was working with the LDAF.
“The staff is working with the Department of Ag to try to come up with the right plan,” Sagrera said. “We are going to continue working very hard and reaching out and mobilize communication.”
