Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas are protected conservation areas within the state of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. The goal is protecting, conserving, and replenishing wildlife, including all aquatic life. Wildlife Management Areas may be owned or managed by the

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 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. Mission The Louisiana Department of Wildlife ...

. The Enforcement Division ensures compliance of laws and rules and regulations regarding the management, conservation, protection of natural wildlife and fisheries resources, and providing public safety.

Ecoregions

Louisiana is divided into areas called

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

s, ''West Gulf Coast Plain'' (WGCP) with 370,861 acres, ''East Gulf Coast Plain'' (EGCP) with 198,377 acres, ''Mississippi Alluvial Valley - North'' (MAVN) with 128,736 acres, and the ''Mississippi Alluvial Valley - South'' (MAVS) with 257,999 acres.

Wildlife Management Areas

Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas:

Former WMA

The LDWF free-lease on the more than 25,000-acre ''Jackson - Bienville Wildlife Management Area'' (a WMA since 1961) was not renewed as of July 1, 2016, as an agreement with the Weyerhaeuser Company could not be reached. Nesting areas of the

Red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. It is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small- to mi ...

s are still subject to protection by the State of Louisiana and the LDWF under current laws and rules and regulations. Ben's Creek Wildlife Management Area in Washington Parish, with 13,044-acres (since 1987), was removed as a free-lease so the public can no longer use the property.

Georgia Pacific WMA

A 25,480-acre tract of land, bordered on the west by the Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the LDWF under a twenty-five year lease with tax exemptions that started in 1994, was removed as a WMA in 2003. The property, previously known as ''Terzia Game Preserve'', under cooperative agreements with the state of Louisiana since 1935, was renamed Georgia Pacific WMA in 1966. Georgia Pacific Corporation transferred the property to a subsidy, ''The Timber Company'', and the property was acquired by ''Plum Creek Timber Company'' during a 2001 merger. A local attorney brought a lawsuit in 2002 challenging the legality of a 1987 Legislative act (LSA-R.S. 56:24), that exempted local and state property taxes on corporate forest lands leased to the State for hunting by the public, that allegedly conflicts with ''Section 21 of Article 7'' of the

Louisiana Constitution The Louisiana Constitution is legally named the Constitution of the State of Louisiana and commonly called the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and the Constitution of 1974. The constitution is the cornerstone of the law of Louisiana ensuring the ...

. The lawsuit will likely have far reaching implications on land made available to the public that includes over 400,000 acres in Louisiana. With the potential loss of tax exemptions more property owners will likely not renew leases and many will opt to self-manage property pursuing other uses like leasing to hunting clubs, that have become a lucrative deal.The Pineywoods.com: Lawsuit over Georgia Pacific WMA
Retrieved 2017-02-21

Conservation areas

White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in Vermilion Parish

Wildlife refuges

References

{{Protected areas of Louisiana 01 Wildlife Management Areas Wildlife Management Areas Wildlife management areas

Wildlife management areas