Louisiana Waterfowl Hunting on Bussey Brake WMA Not Permitted

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries 11.22.13

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is advising hunters that waterfowl hunting on Bussey Brake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is not permitted this hunting season.

At their Nov. 7 meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission established Bussey Brake Reservoir as a WMA. Bussey Brake consists of 2,614 acres in Morehouse Parish and is primarily a lake with water front acreage, acquired by LDWF in July 2013 via donation from International Paper Company.

Bussey Brake was donated and incorporated into the WMA program after the 2013-14 hunting season dates were established. Consideration for hunting opportunities on the WMA will be made for future hunting seasons, but hunting is currently not allowed due to lake renovations being undertaken by the Office of Fisheries.

After donation from International Paper, the Department began to drain the lake in order to completely renovate the reservoir’s fish population, which will include stocking the water body with popular gamefish including bass, bream, catfish and crappie.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.

For more information, contact Bo Boehringer at 225-765-5115 or bboehringer@wlf.la.gov.

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division(LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdictionanywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department’s Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a “game warden”, Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state’s commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state’s waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.