There’s definitely a Teddy Roosevelt theme being touted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the weeks following the first Louisiana black bear hunting season since 1988.

And why not? The stage agency successfully overcame resistance to resurrecting the black bear season with solid arguments, management practices and decisions. The season was held Dec. 7-22.

How successful?  Louisiana became the first state to take an endangered species and bring it to the point it can be hunted safely not once but twice. The first instance was with the alligator.

Two of the 10 black bear hunters who managed to harvest a black bear did so in a way to relive an event experienced by Roosevelt, the 26th president and one of the nation’s greatest conservationists, LDWF pointed out recently in a prepared statement. Roosevelt brought down a female black bear in October 1907 while hunting in East Carroll and Madison parishes.

More than 100 years later, Fisher Brown and Perry Pitre Jr. also killed their respective black bears in northern Madison Parish. They were presented the Historic Hunt Award from LDWF.

These are exciting times for big game hunting in the Sportsman’s Paradise.

LDWF Large Carnivore Program Manager John Hanks said, proudly, “The bear that Brown harvested is near that property (in north Madison Parish near coincidentally named Bear Lake) where Roosevelt took his bear. And Pitre harvested his bear on an adjacent property. While we don’t know exactly where Roosevelt took the bear, we know it was in that area and that Brown and Pitre Jr. were on the property where Roosevelt camped.”

The season emphasizes how well the habitat in Bear Management Area 4 – Tensas, Madison, East Carroll and West Carroll parishes, plus portions of Richland, Franklin and Catahoula parishes – supports the population of Louisiana black bears. It was true when Roosevelt hunted there and, due to programs to restore Louisiana black bear habitat by LDWF and other caring partners, remains true to this day.

“It’s really cool when you can see a historic piece of Louisiana’s past combine with the present, especially when it comes to hunting. A healthy habitat is the key to supporting and growing populations for wildlife, which is evident in the area of our recent black bear season,” LDWF Secretary Madison Sheahan said. “Thanks to our many partners, both public and private, the habitat in that area has improved greatly and is attributed to the success of these two hunters in harvesting a bear on the historic land where Teddy Roosevelt hunted.”

The Louisiana black bear was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992. With many stakeholders banding together to keep tabs on black bear population numbers, restore habitat and protect the species for the long term, it was removed from the list in 2016.

Speaking of Roosevelt, Deron Santiny of Lafayette, whose story about killing the biggest black bear during the recent hunt was chronicled on these pages Dec. 30, 2024, was named the Teddy Roosevelt Award winner Jan. 7 at a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting Jan. 7. Santiny harvested a 696-pounder, a potential state record, while hunting Dec. 17 in Tensas Parish near St. Joseph.

Brown and Pitre also were honored at the recent LWFC meeting with the Historic Hunt Award.

From this year on, the state agency’s Teddy Roosevelt Award will go to the hunter who harvests the largest bear each season.

Special recognition was given to Bill McMain and Mike McMain, whose land is where Brown and Pitre’s bears were harvested, as well as Jerry White, John Fell and Donnie Landry, landowners where Santiny’s black bear was shot and killed.

Sheahan said, “It’s my pleasure to present these awards as we highlight the success and historical significance of our Louisiana black bear hunting season. More than a century ago, President Teddy Roosevelt hunted bear in these same areas. And we think it appropriate to honor his memory as one of our nation’s premiere conservations along with his tie to our state as we return bear hunting to Louisiana.”

Congratulations to all 10 hunters who were successful in downing a bear last December. They certainly made history.

All black bear lottery fees and license revenue from the special season are being reinvested directly into the Louisiana Black Bear Program. The money will assist state biologists who continue to conduct bear management operations such as annual live trapping and attaching radio collars to bear, winter den checks to monitor reproductive rates and non-invasive hair samplings to monitor range expansion.

For more information on Louisiana’s black bear management, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB_oXGkwDUA

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.