Looking way ahead to the 2018-19 hunting seasons in the Sportsman’s Paradise?

You can start making plans as the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved the 2018-19 resident game hunting seasons, 2018-19 general and Wildlife Management Areas hunting seasons, rules and regulations, 2019 general and WMA turkey hunting season, rules and regulations and 2018-19 migratory bird hunting season, rules and regulations at its meeting Thursday in Baton Rouge.

Notices of Intent were issued in January by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for the upcoming hunting seasons and were OK’d with amendments made in February.

Teche Area deer hunters take notice. Some of the approved amendments included alteration of the season structure for deer hunting areas 5 and 7. The new dates for Deer Area 5 will be earlier within the normal season framework, starting with primitive firearms season that begins Nov. 10.

Also, the beginning and closing of archery season is all that will be affected in Deer Area 7 — opening Sept. 15 and closing Jan. 15, an adjustment that allows the area to be in season at the same time as deer hunting areas 3, 8 and 10.

Area deer hunters who hunt in Deer Area 9, which includes portions of Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes, should note a change in the either-sex primitive and modern firearm dates, which will be earlier within the normal season framework to facilitate the antlerless harvest earlier in the season with the intent to improve sex ratios before the breeding season, according to state wildlife biologists. There is no reduction or addition to available hunting days.

For those who hunt on the Attakapas WMA just inside the West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee, there will be a reduction of available either-sex modern firearm days from three to two and a reduction of primitive firearms bucks-only from seven to two for deer.

Another rule of note is the prohibition of drones on Wildlife Management Areas.

A few changes from previous hunting seasons on WMAs were made this past week. The LWFC added vessel language for allowable means of camping on WMAs and added language to clarify where camping is allowed on WMAs.

The area’s avid turkey hunters may be interested to know about the addition of a part of St. Martin Parish into Area A for turkey hunting.

To take a look at the full notice of intent and hunting season dates and regulations changes for the upcoming hunting seasons, visit www.louisiana.gov/action-items.

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Good news for deer hunters and the deer herd in northeast Louisiana came this past week from Baton Rouge.

The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ sampling efforts for chronic wasting disease in East Carroll, Madison and Tensas parishes have ruled out the disease in that region.

LDWF sampled 239 deer from the three parishes. No positive CWD results were recorded on 188 of those deer as of Wednesday, according to state biologists. The sampling measures were part of the LDWF’s CWD Response Plan, triggered by the discovery of a buck that tested positive for CWD in Issauena County, Mississippi, on Jan. 25. The county borders northeast Louisiana.

Mississippi also has sampled 275 deer in that area and the results were negative for CWD, a spokesman said.

 

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.