Louisiana DWF Offers Tree Stand Safety Training

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries 08.08.13

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Hunter Education Program staff and volunteer instructors recently completed training in the safe and proper use of tree stands and fall arrest systems.

The training was conducted by the Treestand Manufactures Association (TMA) and held at the Woodworth Education Center on July 26-27. Falls from tree stands injure hunters who use them for big game hunting and familiarity with equipment is the best preventive measure. TMA promotes the proper and safe use of tree stands and fall arrest systems for hunters in elevated positions.

Day one consisted of a Trainer’s course for hunter education program staff and day two provided a Basic Instructor’s course for volunteer instructors. Classroom topics included the need for tree stand safety, TMA’s role in tree stand safety, training aids and equipment, and treestand safety curriculum and principals. Attendees were taught to demonstrate the safe use of tree stands, proper use of full body harnesses, suspension relief and recovery techniques.

“Hunters who hunt from tree stands should consider a full body harness an integral part of their tree stand and use it each and every time they leave the ground to climb into a stand,” said John Sturgis, state coordinator for the LDWF’s Hunter Education Program. “This training will allow our staff and volunteer instructors to do a better job of delivering the information that will educate Louisiana hunters on how to stay safe when hunting from an elevated position.”

Conducting the training for TMA were John Louk, TMA executive director, and L.J. Smith of Smith Investigations.

For more information contact John Sturgis at 225-763-5448 or jsturgis@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.