The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced that, after an unusually long summer flooding period, the annual drawdown of Catahoula Lake has been completed.
 
The annual drawdown is conducted to stimulate germination and growth of moist-soil vegetation that provides important food resources for migrating and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds.
 
“If the water level stays within our target levels, there is still enough time to get production of desirable waterfowl food plants like millet and sprangletop  before re-flooding in November,” said LDWF WMA Biologist Supervisor Cliff Dailey.  “To maximize the chances of success, the water level will be held at 27.0 feet above MSL until mid-November.”
 
Catahoula Lake is one of the most important early-season habitats for migrating and wintering waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway, largely because of the vast amount of food provided by vegetative growth following the annual summer drawdown.  Hundreds of thousands of ducks and shorebirds are regularly counted on the lake in early November.
 
Water levels are managed cooperatively by LDWF and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers via an operations document called the Tri-Party Agreement.  The agreement calls for a lake drawdown level of 27.0 to 27.5 feet, with drawdown usually complete by late July.  High water from rainfall and runoff made that impossible this year, therefore the water level will be kept at the lower end of that range to increase the chances of vegetative growth prior to arrival of large migratory flocks of ducks in the fall.
 
For more information contact Larry Reynolds at 225-765-0456 or lreynolds@wlf.la.gov .