Biologists think the outlook is good for squirrels and rabbits on Louisiana’s public lands
Of Louisiana’s 76,400 hunters who harvested the two most popular small game animals, squirrels No. 1 and rabbits No. 2, in 2023-24, there’s little doubt most of them were in the woods, marshes and swamps of the state’s Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
The WMAs are in the capable hands of dedicated Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries game biologists from Bodcau WMA on the Louisiana/Arkansas line to Pass-a-Loutre near the Gulf of Mexico. Biologist supervisors and biologist managers from seven regions recently weighed in on small game harvests last season and what’s likely ahead in 2024-25.
Hammond Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Pearl River WMA: 1,219 squirrels reported (.89 squirrels per hunter effort)
Maurepas Swamp WMA: 625 squirrels reported (.97 squirrels per hunter effort)
Tunica Hills WMA: 224 squirrels reported (1.02 squirrels per hunter effort)
Sandy Hollow WMA: 132 squirrels reported (.44 squirrels per hunter effort)
Lake Ramsay Savannah WMA: 22 squirrels reported (.22 squirrels per hunter effort)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Maurepas Swamp WMA: 219 rabbits reported (.73 rabbits per hunter effort)
Joyce WMA: 24 rabbits reported (.89 rabbits per hunter effort)
Without a doubt, Pearl River WMA still offers the best squirrel hunting opportunities in the Hammond Region.
To wit: 1,219 squirrels were harvested at Pearl River WMA last season, almost twice as many as Maurepas Swamp WMA, where squirrel hunters bagged 625. Tunica Hills WMA ranked third in squirrel harvest with 224.
Those WMAs set the squirrel hunting pace in 2023-24. According to Hammond Region WMA biologist manager Forest Burks, each have mast hardwoods. Squirrels inhabiting the swamps can eat cypress balls during the years that acorns aren’t abundant, Burks said.
Before the 2024-25 season, the table has been set just right.
“Unlike last year when we had a severe drought, we have been getting rains so far this year,” Burks said. “There should be plenty of acorns in the woods this coming fall.”
There are two reasons rabbit hunters fared well last season, according to Burks. Briar patches continue to grow on spoil banks at Maurepas Swamp WMA, while marshland inside Joyce WMA continues to recover from Hurricane Ida. As for the upcoming season, the outlook is bright because there hasn’t been a high-water event to push rabbits out of the swamp and marsh.
Lafayette Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Richard K. Yancey WMA: 7,882 squirrels reported (2.1 squirrels per hunter effort)
Sherburne WMA: 4,525 squirrels reported (1.6 squirrels per hunter effort)
Spring Bayou WMA: 844 squirrels reports (1.4 squirrels per hunter)
Grassy Lake WMA: 638 squirrels reported (1.5 squirrels per hunter effort)
Attakapas Island WMA: 535 squirrels reported (1.9 squirrels per hunter effort)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Attakapas Island WMA: 6,615 rabbits reported, (4.3 rabbits per hunter effort)
Sherburne WMA: 243 rabbits reported, (0.3 rabbits per hunter effort)
Arthur Hebert, the Lafayette Region’s biologist supervisor, called rabbit hunting success two seasons ago “incredible” on the Attakapas Island WMA.
“This last year (season) was even crazier,” he said, referring to the 7,882 rabbits bagged by hunters who hunted the boat access-only WMA.
It was quite a jump from the 2,105 rabbits harvested in 2022-23. Hebert explained that rabbits on the 27,962-acre WMA in the Atchafalaya Basin had a lot going for them before the start of last season. The Atchafalaya River dropped in time, the sandy banks soaked in the rain and ample cover grew, allowing some rabbits to have two litters.
Hebert said rabbit hunters who use dogs have banner days after the last primitive firearms deer season there.
“People take advantage of it,” he said. “It gets a lot of dog hunters.”
Rabbit dogs aren’t a necessity, however.
“I went out there a couple times and got eight on foot,” Hebert said.
Squirrel hunting numbers also spiraled last season on Richard K. Yancey WMA, where hunters harvested 7,882 squirrels (up from 5,926 in 2022-23) at the bottomland forest system dominated by oak trees. The mast crop was good the previous year despite a prolonged drought, Hebert said, noting the mast crop’s size “was small but utilized by squirrels nevertheless.”
Sherburne WMA’s squirrel numbers ranked second in the region and second among all Louisiana WMAs.
Lake Charles Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
West Bay WMA: 226 squirrels reported, 446 hunter efforts (1 squirrel per 262 acres, 1 squirrel per 2 hunter efforts)
Clear Creek WMA: 101 squirrels reported, 227 hunter efforts (1 squirrel per 520 acres, 1 squirrel per 2.25 hunter efforts)
Sabine Island WMA: 89 squirrels reported, 74 hunter efforts (1 squirrel per 97 acres, 1 squirrel per 1.2 hunter efforts)
Fort Johnson North WMA: 86 squirrels reported, 158 hunter efforts (1 squirrel per 864 acres, 1 squirrel per 1.8 hunter efforts)
Fort Johnson-Vernon WMA: 58 squirrels reported, 147 hunter efforts (1 squirrel per 1,820 acres, 1 squirrel per 2.5 hunter efforts)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Clear Creek WMA: 95 rabbits reported, 99 hunter efforts (1 rabbit per 0.95 hunter efforts)
West Bay WMA: 50 rabbits reported, 119 hunter efforts (1 rabbit per .42 hunter efforts)
Clear Creek WMA’s harvest of 95 rabbits last season was a testament to timber harvest strategies in the Lake Charles Region, said veteran LDWF WMA biologist Kori Legleu Buxton. Fresh cutovers provide early successional forage near brushy cover along forest edges, a mecca for cottontails. Combined with severe weather the past few years creating thickets and brush piles, Clear Creek WMA and West Bay WMA, where 50 rabbits were bagged last season, Buxton foresees above average rabbit harvests for 2024-25.
LDWF staffers relayed encouraging news the second week of August.
“They’re telling me they’ve seen more rabbits than they’ve seen in a long time,” Buxton said. “They specifically mentioned both Clear Creek and West Bay.”
The most encouraging word on the upcoming squirrel season is the number of baby squirrels being seen, a good sign considering last summer’s severe drought. Some problems linger, Buxton said, “but the fact they’re seeing some young ones is a good sign.”
Last season’s squirrel harvest leader was West Bay WMA with 226 squirrels, followed by Clear Creek’s 101. Sabine Island WMA’s harvest was 89.
Sabine Island WMA’s swampy habitat and boat-only accessibility makes it a great alternative despite the fact it remains a tough place to get around since Hurricane Rita, Buxton said.
Minden Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Bodcau WMA: 1,413 squirrels reported (1.24 squirrels per hunter effort)
Loggy Bayou WMA: 240 squirrels reported (.71 squirrels per hunter effort)
John Franks WMA: 231 squirrels reported (1.36 squirrels per hunter effort)
Soda Lake WMA: 79 squirrels reported (.51 squirrels per hunter effort)
Bayou Pierre WMA: 57 squirrels reported (.85 squirrels per hunter effort)
When Jeff Johnson, the region’s biologist manager since 2021, talks about top squirrel hunting potential, he focuses on Bodcau WMA and Loggy Bayou WMA, two public lands in the Minden Region.
“Bodcau is my go-to on squirrels by far,” Johnson said. “It’s the biggest WMA (in the region).”
At 33,766 acres, Bodcau WMA gave up 1,413 squirrels in 2023-24, with an average of 1.24 squirrels per hunter effort.
Besides its size, the biggest plusses are prime squirrel habitat (mix of bottomland hardwoods and mixed pine) and a very diverse mast crop.
“It’s not what it was a few years ago,” Johnson said, noting the mast crop bounced back the past two years. As a result, squirrel numbers rebounded.
Bodcau WMA is a favorite for those who hunt with dogs, he said. It features a Small Game Emphasis Area.
“When it (squirrel season) opens, there’s a lot of interest,” Johnson said. “We have a good number of people who hunt with squirrel dogs on Bodcau. It opens the early part of December, so they have a little longer to hunt with dogs.”
Loggy Bayou WMA mast crop also recovered with “decent” mast crops the past two years. Squirrel hunters bagged 240 there in 2023-24.
Loggy Bayou and Bodcau should be the top two WMAs that consistently produce the most rabbits harvested in the Minden Region.
“The numbers aren’t incredibly high, but all things relative, these are usually the top two,” Johnson said.
Monroe Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Big Lake WMA: 2,136 squirrels reported, 1,236 hunters (1.7 squirrels per hunter effort)
Boeuf WMA: 1,769 squirrels reported, 1,270 hunters (1.4 squirrels per hunter effort)
Russell Sage WMA: 685 squirrels reported, 648 hunters (1.1 squirrels per hunter effort)
Buckhorn WMA: 243 squirrels reported, 111 hunters (2.2 squirrels per hunter effort)
Bayou Macon WMA: 216 squirrels reported, 256 hunters (0.8 squirrels per hunter effort)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Russell Sage WMA: 48 rabbits reported, 53 hunters (0.9 rabbits per hunter effort)
Boeuf WMA: 20 rabbits reported, 31 hunters (.64 rabbits per hunter effort)
Big Lake WMA: 4 rabbits reported, 9 hunters (.4 rabbits per hunter effort)
Mitch McGee, the region’s biologist manager, has an optimistic outlook for squirrel hunting this season on public areas in the Monroe Region.
“I think we’ll have a good squirrel season,” McGee said in mid-summer, citing a fair mast crop last year, much improved over a poor one in 2022. “Prospects look good. We’re in a lot better position than we were in the previous year.”
The WMA’s squirrel populations were down last season but should bounce back in 2024-25. Numbers are tied very closely to previous mast crops, he explained.
Big Lake WMA’s squirrel hunters took 2,136 squirrels off the public area in 2023-24, according to McGee.
“Big Lake and Russell Sage WMAs should be on any squirrel hunter’s list with vast areas of older age class bottomland timber,” he wrote in his report.
Boeuf WMA’s squirrel harvest was a good one, too, with 1,769 in 1,270 hunter efforts.
Thanks to several dry years, McGee said the region’s rabbit population has increased across the region.
Pineville Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Dewey W. Wills WMA: 3,971 squirrels reported (1.3 squirrels per hunter effort)
Sabine WMA: 135 squirrels reported (1.5 squirrels per hunter effort)
Alexander State Forest WMA: 265 squirrels reported (1.1 squirrels per hunter effort)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Sabine WMA: 169 rabbits reported (1.0 rabbits per hunter effort)
Dewey W. Wills WMA: 83 rabbits reported (0.2 per hunter effort)
Don’t count on Dewey W. Wills WMA giving up as many squirrels this season as it did in 2023-24, when squirrel hunters harvested 3,971, second-highest among Louisiana WMAs.
“We’re expecting it to be average or a little below average this season, just because of the mast crop last year,” Cliff Dailey said. “We’re not expecting it to be a bumper crop.”
The Minden Region’s biologist supervisor since 2013, a 16-year veteran state biologist (as of December 2024), Dailey said size is a key to the 64,984-acre WMA’s success for squirrel hunters who like to “stretch out and get away from people” and often create more opportunities. Top spots include the Muddy Bayou Watershed and Nolan’s Bayou, where some people get on the water and paddle to get away from hunting pressure.
“They also fish after the hunt, kind of like cast and blast,” Dailey said.
Dewey W. Wills WMA’s two Small Game Emphasis Areas total 4,400 acres where squirrel hunters can train their squirrel dogs June 1-Aug. 31 and hunt squirrels the first portion of the season, Oct. 5-Nov. 17.
While that public area harbors fox squirrels only, Sabine WMA has fox and gray squirrels and a lot more piney woods than Dewey W. Wills WMA, Dailey said. The mast crop was down there, too, last year.
Coastal Lafayette Region
Top WMA squirrel harvest numbers for 2023-24
Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA: 13 squirrels reported (0.5 squirrels per hunter effort)
Top WMA rabbit harvest numbers for 2023-24
Atchafalaya Delta WMA: 354 rabbits reported (4.02 rabbits per hunter effort)
If rabbit hunters have a boat and want to hunt one of the Coastal Lafayette Region WMAs, the place to be this season with no storms hitting the coast is the Atchafalaya Delta WMA.
Lance Campbell, the region’s biologist program manager, noted in his report that the harvest increased significantly in 2023-24.
“We anticipate the 2024-2025 rabbit harvest to be similar to last season unless we have a major tropical storm event,” he said.
Another Coastal Lafayette Region WMA to consider is Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA, also accessible only by boat. Specifically, Campbell points rabbit hunters to the Point Farm Unit, where rabbit numbers are much higher than in recent years. The veteran biologist attributed that to the growth of Rubus thickets and early successional habitat created since Hurricane Ida in 2021.
“We expect to see higher harvest per hunter effort at Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA,” he said.
The best the region has to offer for squirrel hunting opportunities is Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA, according to Campbell. However, he anticipates low success rates this year because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida.
