Master Plan will guide WMA's development

A Master Plan for Louisiana’s heavily utilized 1.4 million-acre wildlife management area system is in motion to secure the complex’s legacy for generations to come.
“This document provides a comprehensive guide that our land managers can utilize today and for future decision making on how to best manage properties within the WMA program,” said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham in a press release. “The Conservation Fund, which assisted in this cooperative planning effort, continues to be an extremely valuable resource in our conservation mission.”
“Louisiana’s beautiful and diverse landscapes, abundant hunting and fishing opportunities and unmatched biodiversity attract residents and visitors alike to experience nature in a variety of ways,” said Ole Amundsen, program manager of strategic conservation at The Conservation Fund, in a press release.
“With states across the country looking for efficient and economical ways to balance natural resource stewardship and public needs, the LDWF recognized that it needed be able to invest smartly when deciding what lands to protect, how to manage them successfully and how to encorage the next generation to get out and enjoy its renowned natural wonders.”
Work on the master plan began in 2009 after the legislature directed LDWF to evaluate its existing land portfolio and come up with comprehensive acquisition and management plans. The plan includes directives for management, future conservation, connectivity, future land acquisition and restoration of the state’s 62 WMAs.
Over the next three years, framework for plans at each individual WMA will be drawn up. Management plans will be updated every five years as needs change, and the plans will address all wildlife, wildlife resource and public use opportunities.
“The department’s WMA Program was created to manage the habitat on public-accessible properties for the various wildlife and fisheries resources contained within each and to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, both consumptive and non-consumptive, for our citizens and those visiting Louisiana,” said Jimmy Anthony, assistant secretary, LDWF Office of Wildlife in a press release. “The number of WMAs has grown through the years to the extent that a comprehensive planning document was needed.”
According to a Nov. 2013 LDWF presentation, visitors to the state’s WMA system racked up 680,000 user days for 2012-2013, and these patrons participated in a variety of activities ranging from hunting, trapping and fishing to hiking, horseback riding and birding. User days are not collected in Texas and Arkansas, but fellow southern state Mississippi reported 227,000 user days in the same time period.
Under the Master Plan, LDWF envisions the number of annual users reaching 800,000 per year. Louisiana also leads the way in WMA acres amongst Alabama, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. Alabama is second with 775,000 acres.
All these visitors and all these acres translate into major tax revenue for the state and thousand of jobs.
According to the 2013 Wildlife Tourism and the Gulf Coast Economy report, wildlife tourism contributed nearly $2 billion to the state economy, generating over $200 million in tax revenue, and supported about 82,000 jobs.
Locally, a five-year management is being written for Sherburne and Thistlewaite WMAs. Sherburne’s plan will be completed and implemented within a year, and Thistlewaite’s will be planned and implemented within two years.
While no price tag for the implementation or estimates for implementing it at each WMA are available, last year’s budget for Sherburne WMA was $505,218.95, and Thistlewaite’s was $72,302.46. The budgets include costs such as capital outlay, major repairs, operating services and salaries.
“Implementation of the Master Plan will actually save money for the department by identifying common weaknesses, problems and inefficiencies that LDWF can address,” said Tommy Tuma, the overseer of the state’s Wildlife Management Area Program.
“For instance, we are now renting heavy equipment instead of buying. We are improving our infrastructure so that maintenance costs are lessened in the future. We are leveraging dollars from our partners to serve as state match for our federal aid grants. We are active in Joint Ventures, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and other partnerships that allow us to manage our properties on a landscape level. We continually try to provide for public access and use while protecting the resource.”
“LDWF is constantly looking for more effective and efficient methods to fund and operate our WMAs and WMA system,” he said.
Each year, Sherburne WMA draws about 54,000 users, and the most popular activity at the WMA is shooting. Thistlewaite has about 12,200 users annually, and hunting is the big draw for its users. The majority of visitors to each WMA are from that particular parish where the WMA is located or from the adjacent parishes. In 2013, about 1,650 WMA permits were sold in St. Landry Parish, putting the parish at No. 6 in the state for WMA permits sold.
Part of the Master Plan also looks at the relationships with landowners near and of the WMAs. The lands of Thistlewaite WMA have been leased from the Thistlewaite heirs since 1966.
“LDWF’s relationship with the Thistlewaite heirs is solid,” Tuma said. “We have always enjoyed a fruitful relationship.”
“Sherburne is a little different in (that) there are three public agency ownerships, but managed as a complex that LDWF oversees. LDWF is always looking for opportunities to add to existing WMAs whenever possible. Currently, we have plans for a Conservation Education center and several WMA structures in the plans as well as other infrastructure improvements in the future.”
While adding acres to Sherburne or Thistlewaite is currently not in either WMA’s individual plan, the isolation of Thistlewaite is of concern to Tuma due to the surrounding properties, which are privately owned and have uncertain futures.
“Sherburne is not as concerning since it’s essentially 50,000 acres of public land that will be maintained in conservation,” Tuma said.
According to the Master Plan, LDWF is also looking at ways to attract younger WMA users and accommodate the state’s aging users as populations shift to metropolitan areas throughout the state.
“There are many challenges that the shifting populations pose,” Tuma said. “One is (a) more urban population. Another is our WMA users are getting older. Because of this, our Hunter Education Program is trying to develop and hold programs that reach inner city schools and students that may otherwise not be aware that WMAs exist and what they have to offer.”
While LDWF reaches out to younger generations of outdoorsmen and women, it must also anticipate the need for facilities to accommodate that aging population, especially with improved access of wheelchairs for bathrooms, boardwalks, shooting ranges and visitor centers.