The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will conduct public hearings for informational purposes July 26 in Columbia and July 29 in Jena on a notice of intent (NOI) that restricts supplemental feeding and deer carcass export from the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Control Area.
The July 26 hearing will be held at the Grayson Baptist Church Gymnasium, 915 Louisiana Highway 850, Grayson near Columbia at 10 a.m. The July 29 hearing is set for the Jena Community Center, 1245 Fairgrounds Drive, Jena at 6 p.m.
The NOI will add portions of Caldwell, Catahoula, La Salle, Ouachita and Richland parishes to a CWD Control Area. All of Tensas Parish and portions of Madison, Franklin and Concordia parishes were already included in an existing CWD Control Area, according to LDWF. The CWD Control Area will be expanded in Franklin and Concordia parishes.
The proposed expansion was necessitated because of a CWD confirmed positive wild deer on private land in Catahoula Parish in March. The discovery was made in a hunter-harvested white-tailed buck. This is the first CWD confirmed positive in a wild deer outside of Tensas Parish. CWD was first detected in Louisiana in 2022. The Catahoula Parish positive brings the total number of CWD detections for Louisiana to 40.
To see the current DE and full NOI, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/resources/category/commission-action-items or https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cwd for maps and additional information about CWD.
The public may comment on the NOI until August 5, 2025. Comments may be submitted to LDWF Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon by email at jbordelon@wlf.la.gov or by mail sent to LDWF, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA., 70898.
For more information, contact LDWF Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon at jbordelon@wlf.la.gov
