Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries-Annual Report 2000-2001

70 Pages·2001·2.9 MB·English

by  Department of Conservation, State of Louisiana

Louisiana Department
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ThechargeoftheLouisiana Department ofWildlifeandFisheries is to-protect, conserve, and
replenish thenatural resources, wildlifeandaquatic lifeofthestate.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OFFICE OF SECRETARY
EnforcementDivsion
LouisianaSeafoodPromotion&MarketingBoard
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & FINANCE
8
PublicInformation
9
Fiscal
11
HumanResources
11
AdministrativeServices 12
SocioeconomicResearch&Development 13
PropertyControl 15
Licensing 15
ComputerCenter
15
OFFICE OFWILDLIFE
16
WildlifeDivision 17
Fur&RefugeDivision 22
OFFICE OFFISHERIES 40
MarineFisheriesDivision 41
InlandFisheriesDivision 50
APPENDIX Al
FY2000-2001 DepartmentExpendituresbyCategory Al
How2000-2001 ExpendituresWereFunded A2
FY2000-2001 DepartmentExpendituresbyAppropriatedProgram A3
SourcesofRevenuetotheConservationFundFY2000-2001 A4
M.J."Mike"Foster,Governor JamesH.JenkinsJr.,Secretary
WildlifeandFisheriesCommission
JerryStone,M.D.,Chairman DivisionAdministrators
ThomasGattleJr.,ViceChairman Col.WintonVidrine,Enforcement
TerryD.Denmon BennieFontenot,InlandFisheries
LeeFelterman JamesPatron,Undersecretary KarenFoote,MarineFisheries
ThomasE.Kelly JohnRoussel,AssistantSecretary BrandtSavoie,Fur&Refuge
NormanMcCall PhilBowman,AssistantSecretarv TommyPrickett,Wildlife

OFFICE OF SECRETARY
The OfficeofSecretary is administered by the Department's chiefadministrative officer,
who oversees all scientific operations as organized by the OfficeofWildlifeand the
Office ofFisheries. The Secretaryalso has ultimateauthorityover the operation ofthe
Department'sfiscal and business matters as administered by the Office ofManagement
and Finance. Support operations ofthe Department report directly to the Secretary.
These include the Enforcement Division and the Seafood Promotion andMarketing
Board, as well as the Department's Legal Section.
ENFORCEMENTDIVISION
TheEnforcementDivisionisresponsibleforenforcinglaws
enactedbytheLouisiana Legislaturerelativetofishandwildlife
resourcesandboatingsafetyregulations,aswellasfederalregu-
lationspertainingtomigratorybirdsandendangeredspecies.
LOUISIANASEAFOOD
PROMOTION&MARKETINGBOARD
TheLouisianaSeafoodPromotionandMarketingBoardwascreat-
edbytheLouisianaLegislaturewiththepurposeofenhancingthe
publicimageofcommercialfisheryproducts,promotingthecon-
sumptionoftheseproductsandassistingtheseafoodindustry'.
Accordingtothemissionstatement,theBoardassistanceisto
twofold: productpromotionthroughadvertisingprogramsand
publicimageenhancements;andmarketdevelopmentbybetteruti-
lizingexistingmarketsandestablishingnewmarketopportunities.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/louisianadepar200001depa
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
AgentsoftheEnforcementDivisionissued inhand.Hunterethicsareimprovingasaresult.
morethan18,000citationsand2600written Numbersofwaterfowlactuallymigratingtothis
warningsduringthisfiscalyeai foroffenses stateduringfallandwinterof2000-2001 wereat
includingviolationsofWildlifeandFisheries highlevelsduetocoldweatherconditions.The
Commissionregulations,StateandFederal U.S.FishandWildlifeServiceannouncedthat
wildlifelawsandboatingsafetyregulations.In accordingtothefallflightindex,numbersofbirds
addition,officersworkedwithotherlawenforce- alongthemigratoryrouteweresimilartolast
mentagenciestoprovidepublicsafetyandassis- year'snumbers.
tanceduringlocalemergencysituations.
BoatingLawEnforcement
InkeepingwithDivisionpolicy,specialemphasis Infiscalyear2000-2001,theEnforcementDivision
wasplacedonenforcementofdeerandwaterfowl combinedtraditionallawenforcementwithpro-
regulationsin2000-2001. Bothspecieshavelong activeboatingeducation.Boatingeducationclass-
beenthemostfavoredforhuntinginthestate. esweredesignedtoteachsafetyandresponsibility
Hunterparticipationinwaterfowlhuntinghas onthewater. Morethan3,500Louisianacitizens
increasedduetomoreliberalbaglimits(sixducks completed57boatereducationclassestaughtby
and20geese)andlongerseasonlength(60days) wildlifeagentsandtrainedvolunteers.Legislation
aswaterfowlnumbersincrease. requiringmandatoryboatereducationwillbe
soughtinthefutureandifenactedwillinduce
TheWildlifeandFisheriesLawEnforcement greaterparticipationineducationcourses.
Academymaintaineditshighstandards. Because
ofthelevelofprofessionalismandpreparedness Enforcementofboatingregulationsremaineda
offeredbytheacademyitisgenerallyconsidered priorityandmorethan8,000boatingviolation
oneofthebestofitskindinthenation.Following citationswereissuedduringfiscalyear2000-2001.
training,manyofficersareorganizedintospecial Emphasisremainedonthealcohol-impairedboat
forceunits.Eachisdedicatedtoaparticular operator.Boatingundertheinfluence(BUI)detec-
enforcementmission. tioncontinuedtoimprove.Inadditiontoenforc-
ingBUIlaws,wildlifeagentsstrictlyenforcedcare-
Deer lessandrecklessoperationstatutes,concentrating
Deerhuntersnumberedmorethan180,000and ontheincreasingnumberofpersonalwatercraft.
harvestedanestimated250,000deer.Enforcement
agentsobservedbettercomplianceamonghunters SearchandRescueoperationssavedlivesand
thisfiscalyear.Deerdecoyswereusedwithsuc- minimizedhumansufferinginunfortunateacci-
cessincasesrelatedtonighthunting,shooting dents.Agentsarecurrentlyworkingtoimprove
frompublichighways,andincidentalpoaching. communicationsandreduceresponsetimeto
arrivalatareasofoperation.
Waterfowl
Thewaterfowlenforcementtrainingcourseinsti- TrainingProgram
tutedin1993continuedaspartoftheacademy's Cadets receivea minimum of25weeksoftrain-
curriculum.Thefivedaycourseprovidesspecial- ing. TheWildlifeandFisheriesLawEnforcement
izedtraininginwaterfowlidentificationand Academygraduated37newofficersin2000-2001.
enforcementconcernsinthesouthwestmarshes Theacademyhasearned full PeaceOfficers
andotherwaterfowlhabitat.Thisandothermea- Standardsand Training (POST) Councilcertifi-
sureshaveenhancedeffectivenessofenforcement cationand isnolongerdependentonother
ofwaterfowlregulations.Nationalmigratorybird POSTcertified academies forwildlifeenforce-
managersinstitutedprotectivemeasuresforwater- mentagent POSTtraining. The training facili-
fowlin1986.Itisapparentthatpubliceducation ties weremoved to LDWF property located on
concerningdepletedwaterfowlpopulationsand Flannery Road in BatonRougein2000 andnow
improvedhuntercompliancehaveworkedhand provideclassroomsand lodgingfacilities for
both cadets and in-service officers returningfor tionalmanpowerwheneverandwhereverneeded.
additional trainingin a muchimproved learn- TheStrikeForcecontinueditsconcentrationon
ing environment. commercialfishingviolations,illegalinterstate
transportofcommercialseafoodproductsand
Allofficersarecertifiedin10coursesoftraining theftofboatsandmarineequipment.Efforts
conductedbyexpertsfromvariousagencies:stan- resultedinbettercompliancewithcommercialreg-
dardizedfieldsobrietytesting(LDWF),chemical ulationsandtherecover}'ofstolenboatsandother
testingforintoxication(StatePolice),DWIdetec- propertyvaluedinthousandsofdollars.
tion(HighwaySafetyDivision),tacticalpolicedri-
ving(BatonRougeCityPolice),Louisianasafedri- Louisiana
vers'course(DepartmentofPublicSafety),basic LOUISIANA OperationGame
marinetheft(MississippiFishandGame),basic OPERATIONGAMETHIEF Thief,Inc.
defensivetacticsandcollapsiblebatontechniques (OGT),a pro-
(LDWF),wildlifeagentsaquaticsurvival(LDWF), gramproviding
andChemicalWeaponIndoctrinationand cashrewardsto
Certification(LDWF). anyonereporting
informationresult-
TheDivisionmakes advanced training avail- inginthearrestsof
able toselected officers in such areasas drug
identification in the field, marine theft,boating
accidentinvestigation, and diving/underwater
law enforcement.
SpecialForceUnits
TheOysterStrikeForce(establishedin1990)and
SaltWaterEnforcementPatrol (SWEP,estab-
lishedin 1983)continued tosuccessfullyenforce
oysterandsaltwaterfishingregulations.These wildlifeviolators,recordedmorethan2,000
unitsworkwiththeDivision'spilot-agentand callstoits24-hour,toll-freenumber. Infiscal
airplanetomonitorcommercialandrecreational year2000-2001, OGTpaid over$7,000incash
fishingactivityalongLouisiana'scoastline. rewardstoindividualswho reportedoutdoor
SWEPofficerswerealsoinvolvedinseveral outlaws. Thisanti-poachingorganizationcele-
searchandrescueoperations. bratedits 17-yearanniversaryin2001 andhas
nowpaidinexcessof$140,000inrewardssince
TheCovertUnitcontinuedtodevelopsubstantial Julv 1984.
casesinvolvingillegalsaleandpurchaseofgame,
fishandprotectedspecies. Workinginconjunc-
tionwiththeSpecialInvestigationsUnit,they
havefocusedonillegalsalesofspottedseatrout
andreddrumandhaveinitiatedstudiestocreate
technologywhichwillallowofficerstoreliably
identifydifferentfishspeciesfromfiletsandfish
tissuesamplestakenfromsuspectedviolators.
MembersoftheWildlifeEnforcementDiveTeam
(begunin1990)whohadachievedDiveMaster
Certificationsoughtmoreadvancedtrainingin
2000-2001.Theteamhas15members.
TheStateStrikeForceconsistsoftwoofficersfrom
eachofthenineEnforcementregionsandis
designedtoprovideimmediate,specializedaddi-
LOUISIANA SEAFOOD
PROMOTION & MARKETING BOARD
ABoardof14trusteesisappointedbythegovernor Local,statewide,regionalandnationalmediawere
andservesconcurrentlywiththegovernor'sterm. engagedasneededtoprovideadvancedpublicity
Boardmembersrepresentthedifferentsectorsofthe foreventsandday-ofcoverage.
Louisianaseafoodindustry;forexample,shrimp
harvesters,crabbers,wholesalers,crawfishsuppli- NEWSERVICE
ers,resourcemanagers.
LSPMBstaffersproducednewsreleasesregularly
Theexecutivedirectoroverseesmultiplecommuni- anddistributedthemtoLouisianamedia.TheBoard
cationsprogramsanddirectsthestaffoftheSeafood alsoengagedtheservicesofanationalnewsdistrib-
Board.Areportontheprogramsforfiscalyear2000- utionservicewhichsentfourstaffreleasesto10,000
2001follows. papersand2,500radiostationsacrossthecountry.
Newsreleasesprovidedinformationonresultsof
recenthealthresearch,onhandlingandpreparing
TRADESHOWSAND seafood,andontheavailability
CONVENTIONS ofLouisianaseafood.
Tradeshowsattractedseafood Staffersalsoproducedthree
buyersfromacrossthecountry industrynewsletters:Network,
andtheworld.LSPMBstaffers Waterbottoms,andLeadline.
workedsixkeyfoodshowsto
facilitatesalesbetweenbuyers MEDIARELATIONS
andLouisiana'sseafoodsuppli-
ers.Staffersidentifiedthe Toenhancethevisibilityof
buyer'sneedsandpassedthat Louisianaseafoodacrossthe
tradeinformationontoevery country,staffersprovidedser-
Louisianaseafoodsupplier. vicesonrequesttotelevision
Theyalsodisplayedstate-of- producers,magazineeditors,
the-artexhibitsattheshows. newsreporters,naturecenter
directorsandothers.Services
CAMPAIGNSANDMEDIA includedfacilitatingon-site
EVENTS coverageofaLouisianaseafood
story,arrangingforinterviews
LSPMBstafferspulledoutall withexperts,providingback-
thestops forseasonopenings groundinformationandweb
andotherspecial events. siteresources,andloaning-out
Campaignsincluded: inter- qualityaudiovisuals.
viewsandcookingdemonstrationsonmorning
televisionshows;seafood tastingsand question EDUCATION
andanswersessionswithwellknowchefsat
supermarkets; andphoto-shootswiththe LSPMBstaffersparticipatedinfiveworkshopsfor
Seafood Board mascotShrimp Louieatseafood collegeandhighschooleducatorsandsciencecenter
markets. managers.TheLouisianaSeafoodStudyUnits,cre-
atedbystaffers,providedactivitieskeyedto
Campaigns alsoincludedselectivelyplaced LouisianaDepartmentofEducationcontentstan-
print,radioand televisionadvertisements. dardswhichtaughtstudentstoidentifyLouisiana
Stafferscreated ad conceptsandoversaweach seafood,understandtheirhabitatrequirements,and
step ofadproduction. learnabouttheseafoodlifewayorindustry.