The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is a state agency of
Louisiana that maintains state wildlife and fishery areas. The agency is headquartered in the capital city of
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...
.
Mission
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is assigned the responsibility of managing, conserving, promoting, and supervision of Louisiana's renewable fish and wildlife resources and their supporting habitats, through the
Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 Article IX, Section 7 and in revised statutes under Title 36 and Title 56.
History
The LDWF was formerly known as the ''Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission''.
Divisions
Programs
The LDWF is involved with many programs
Waterfowl Program
The LDWF participates in the ''Waterfowl Program'' that includes waterfowl-wetlands management, research, and monitoring. Two biologists coordinate the program, the Waterfowl Study Leader and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). The program offers technical assistance to improve wetland habitat on both public and private land that includes providing food for wintering
geese and
ducks, nest sites, brooding habitat, for breeding
wood duck
The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.
Description
The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...
s. Biologists form the ''Mississippi Flyway Council Technical Committee'' collects technical data used to set annual waterfowl hunting regulations.
HIP
Louisiana, as well as all other states such as
Texas, participate in the HIP Program. This is an acronym for ''Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program'' that is operated jointly by each state and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
(USFWS), for anyone wanting to hunt ducks,
coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
s, geese,
brant,
swans,
doves,
band-tailed pigeon
The band-tailed pigeon (''Patagioenas fasciata'') is a medium-sized bird of the Americas. Its closest relatives are the Chilean pigeon and the ring-tailed pigeon, which form a clade of ''Patagioenas'' with a terminal tail band and iridescent p ...
s,
woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English ...
,
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
* Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ...
s,
snipe,
sandhill cranes
Crane or cranes may refer to:
Common meanings
* Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird
* Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting
** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads
People and fictional characters
* Crane (surname ...
, or
gallinule
Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen".
They are close relatives of coots. They are of ...
s, all hunters must register, and the information is used to provide statistics on waterfowl harvesting in the US.
Powers of search
State law grants broad powers to LDWF officers concerning any aspect of wildlife in the state. Officers have a right to visit, inspect records and search, with or without a search warrant, "any cold storage plant, warehouse, boat, store, car, conveyance, automobile or other vehicle, airplane or other aircraft, basket or other receptacle, or any place of deposit for wild birds, wild quadrupeds, fish, or other aquatic life or any parts thereof whenever there is
probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant. There is no universally accepted definition or f ...
to believe that a violation has occurred".
This includes "public restaurants, public and private markets, stores, and places where wild birds, game quadrupeds, fish, or other aquatic life or any parts thereof may be kept and offered for sale, for the purpose of ascertaining whether any laws or regulations under the jurisdiction of the department have been violated." This also includes inspecting commercial licenses required for retail and/or wholesale of commercial fish and bait fish.
The "search with or without warrant" provision, involving any wildlife with or without cause, extends to private property, even if fenced and posted with no trespassing signs, using the "open fields doctrine", per
Hester v. United States and
Oliver v. United States
''Oliver v. United States'', 466 U.S. 170 (1984), is a United States Supreme Court decision relating to the open fields doctrine limiting the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Background
Acting upon a tip that defendant was grow ...
, and does not violate the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or the Louisiana Constitution. The Second Circuit of the Court of Appeal of Louisiana concluded that there is no expectation of privacy where hunting and fishing are allowed, and agents can enter property without suspicion.
The "balancing test", the "promotion of legitimate governmental interests against the intrusion of the procedure" (authority for application is
Johnson v. United States (2015)), was provided in
Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979). United States v. Greenhead, Inc., 256 F. Supp. 890 (N.D. Cal. 1966), affirms that agents can enter a locked gate, without any suspicion of criminal wrongdoing.
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation
The ''Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation'' (LWFF) was formed December 14, 1995, as a 501(C)(3) tax exempt nonprofit public charitable foundation. The purpose is to aid the LDWF in a broad range of areas, including financial support, in
habitat conservation
Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...
. The foundation receives no funding from the State of Louisiana or the LDWF so is dependent on contributions from private and corporate donations.
The
Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area
Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area, also referred to as Russell Sage WMA, became the first WMA owned by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries upon purchasing 15,000 acres of property in 1960. The WMA is located about seven miles ea ...
''Wham Brake enhancement project'' (Wham Brake Hydrology Enhancement) was completed June 20, 2017. The project was a joint partnership between the LDWF,
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit organization 501(c) dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It has had a membership of around 700,000 since January 2013 ...
(DU), LWFF, the Walker Foundation, Biedenharn Foundation, International Paper and other DU sponsors that support America's River Initiative. A
North American Wetlands Conservation Act The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (P.L. 101-233) (December 13, 1989) authorizes a wetlands habitat program, administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which provides grants to protect and manage wetland habitats for migr ...
(NAWCA) grant of $1,000,000 was matched with partner contributions of $2,100,000 to improve 3,500 acres of wetland habitat with an impacted area of 8,547 acres.
''Louisiana NAWCA Projects''
Retrieved 2017-07-16
See also
*List of Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas
Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas are protected conservation areas within the state of Louisiana. The goal is protecting, conserving, and replenishing wildlife, including all aquatic life. Wildlife Management Areas may be owned or managed by th ...
*The Derelict Crab Trap Program The Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program was created by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission in 2004. This was created to remove derelict crab traps from state-owned lakes and river-beds and to reduce the potential impact from these traps. ...
*List of State Fish and Wildlife Management Agencies in the U.S.
This article is a list of state and territorial fish and wildlife management agencies in the United States, by U.S. state or territory. These agencies are typically within the State Executive Branch. In most states these agencies manage hunting an ...
References
External links
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
{{authority control
wildlife
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
Louisiana