The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) voted Thursday, Aug. 1 to allocate Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) dedicated funding for development and preservation of migratory waterfowl breeding grounds to Delta Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited for three years.
Both organizations will receive 50% of the allocation in each of the three consecutive fiscal years, including 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27, which is to be used for protecting, restoring, and enhancing breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl.
Since 1965, LDWF has provided funding to support conservation of breeding-grounds habitat for migratory waterfowl and by statute allocates a portion of annual hunting license revenue for that purpose.
In the last three years, an average of $240,000 annually has been awarded for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of breeding waterfowl habitat. The current contract expired on June 30, 2024. Act 114 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session expanded the revenues dedicated to the Duck License, Stamp, and Print Fund to include all proceeds from the sale of waterfowl hunting licenses and should result in approximately $400,000 available for projects in the waterfowl breeding grounds annually.
In response to a Commission request in July, proposals were presented during Thursday’s meeting by Delta Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited.
For more information, contact LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Jason Olszak at jolszak@wlf.la.gov.