WHEREAS, escalating recreational land use values and lease fees have precluded the enjoyment of wild lands for many who can’t afford the cost of leasing, and the high demand for private hunting privileges has reduced the amount of land available for outdoor recreation, regardless of ability to pay for it, and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 366 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session authorized and empowered the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to convey, transfer, assign, and deliver title of a certain tract of land to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) to manage for compatible recreational use including bowhunting, and
WHEREAS, that certain tract of land is situated in the parishes of Rapides, Evangeline, Avoyelles, and St. Landry, more specifically described as the approximately twenty mile long scenic easement area lying between the 1-49 right-of-way westward to the Bayou BoeufCocodrie Diversion Canal, beginning just north of the community of Washington in St. Landry Parish, and extending northward through Evangeline, Avoyelles, and the southern portion of Rapides Parishes, and
WHEREAS, due to the close proximity of the described property to 1-49, and its narrow width, the Legislature determined that hunting on the property shall be limited to the use of bow and arrow, and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 366 was signed by the Governor on June 28, 2001 and became Act 1129 of the 2001 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, taking effect on August 15 of that same year, and
WHEREAS, there has been limited visible action taken by LDWF to make the described property available to the citizenry of Louisiana for bowhunting and the “nonconsumptive ‘l enjoyment of Nature.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) urges the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to act with all due diligence to make available the aforementioned property for public use as prescribed by Act 1 129 of the 2001 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature prior to the 2002-2003 hunting season.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LWF urges the LDWF to keep the public informed of the progress of this effort through its publications and via advisories to the news media.
Adopted by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in convention assembled, 3 March 2002, in Marksville, Louisiana.