Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Announces 2025 Louisiana Duck Stamp Contest
The 2024 Louisiana Duck Stamp winning entry.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced the rules and timeframe for the 2025 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp, or Louisiana Duck Stamp, competition, now in its 37th year.
“The featured species for the 2025 competition will be the black-bellied whistling duck,’’ said LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Jason Olszack. “Colloquially referred to as ‘black-bellied tree ducks’ or ‘Mexican squealers,’ this waterfowl species is one of the few that has not previously been the subject of Louisiana’s duck stamp art competition.’’
The 2025 contest will be restricted to designs with black-bellied whistling duck(s) as the focal species. Artists are reminded of the requirement for associated habitat representative of Louisiana wetlands.
“The primary objective of this program is to provide revenue to create, enhance and maintain habitat for waterfowl and associated wetland wildlife,” Olszak said, “so a habitat component is required in each entry and is one of the five judging criteria.”
To enter, an artist must submit an original, unpublished work of art, along with a signed and notarized artist’s agreement and a $50 entry fee. Entries should be addressed to:
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Attn: Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Program
2000 Quail Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Entries will be accepted from Oct. 14-Oct. 22, 2024, with the contest to be held in the Joe L. Herring Louisiana Room at the LDWF Headquarters building, beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2024. The public is invited to attend.
To fill out the 2025 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition artist agreement and see the full list of rules, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/louisiana-duck-stamp.
Judging for the art competition will be based on the following criteria:
- Accuracy of form, size, proportion, color and posture.
- Level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the waterfowl.
- Appropriateness, accuracy and detail in depiction of the habitat.
- Attractiveness and creativity in composition, subject, background and lighting.
- Suitability for reproduction as stamps and prints.
A panel of judges with experience in waterfowl biology and/or artistic method will select the winning design. The competition is open to all artists 18 years of age and older. Employees of LDWF and members of their immediate families are ineligible.
About Whistling Ducks:
Classified in the waterfowl subfamily Dendrocygninae, the whistling or tree ducks, two of which are common to Louisiana (black-bellied and fulvous), are highly sociable and boisterous. They are neither true ducks nor geese, but exhibit traits and behaviors in common with both. Like geese, whistling duck plumage is identical among the sexes, both of which care for the young. They nest in both tree cavities, including artificial nest boxes, and on the ground, and have the propensity to be prolific nest parasites, laying eggs in the nests of other individuals, even other species.
Once considered a tropical species, black-bellies have expanded their range broadly in the last two decades. Before the end of the 20th century, the species spanned northern South America, Central America, and Mexico up through southern Texas and were occasionally observed in southwestern Louisiana. Since that time, their range has expanded both northward and eastward to include observations in every Mississippi and Atlantic Flyway state and parts of southeastern Canada. Successful breeding populations now range as far north as Tennessee.
About the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp):
The Louisiana Legislature authorized the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp program in 1988. The program was created to generate revenue for conservation and enhancement of waterfowl populations and habitats in Louisiana. During the last 25 years, more than $15 million has been generated for wetland conservation with approximately $6 million spent on land acquisition. In addition, revenue has supported wetland development projects on Wildlife Management Areas and the Louisiana Waterfowl Project, a cooperative endeavor between LDWF, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide habitat for waterfowl and other wetland birds on private lands.
All waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and older, even those who are not otherwise required to purchase a license, must have a Federal Duck Stamp. A current Federal Duck Stamp also serves as a free admission into any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee.
The 2024 contest was restricted to designs featuring ruddy ducks. Anthony Padgett, of Noblesville, Indiana claimed top honor with last year’s rendition of a single ruddy duck drake in a calm backwater setting. The Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp bearing that design will go on sale June 1, 2024. Stamps can be purchased at: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Licenses_and_Permits/Files/state_duck_stamp_request_form.pdf
For more information, contact Jason Olszak at 337-735-8687 or jolszak@wlf.la.gov.
Louisiana State Police released updated information regarding an officer-involved shooting March 5 in Ascension Parish.
According to an LSP news release, the preliminary investigation found that a Gonzales Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop at around 10:45 p.m. near the intersection of South John Street and Orice Roth Road.
In the release, LSP identified the driver of the vehicle as 21-year-old Anthony Talbert of Baton Rouge, who was accompanied by a female passenger.
During the stop, Talbert allegedly reached toward a firearm that was inside the vehicle, per the release.
The officer responded by discharging a department-issued firearm one time, which grazed both Talbert and the unidentified female, the release continued.
According to police, Talbert then fled the scene, exceeding 100 miles per hour and disregarding multiple traffic controls.
Troopers reported Talbert was taken into custody following a short pursuit.
He was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail on charges of aggravated flight, reckless operation, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, police said in the release.
Per troopers, the female was transported to a hospital and was treated for minor injuries.
LSP’s initial news release reported no officers were injured.
According to police, the investigation remained active and further information would be released as available.
Michael Tortorich is a journalist for the USA Today Network in Louisiana.
Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow at facebook.com/WeeklyCitizen and facebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.
Louisiana’s ‘largest’ ever earthquake rattles home security camera
A security camera captured the moment a 4.9-magnitude earthquake shook homes in northwest Louisiana.
Thursday’s earthquake that shook furniture and rattled pipes in the Shreveport region may have some property owners wondering whether they should consider buying insurance to cover them from potential stronger movement in the future.
The 4.9 magnitude earthquake that struck just north of Coushatta at 5:30 a.m. March 5 was the strongest onshore event in Louisiana history.
No structural damage has been reported from Thursday’s earthquake so far, but the strength of the movement may have been enough to raise concern.
“If people are concerned they should call their insurance agent and explore pricing and options,” Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said in an interview with USA Today Network.
“It’s not an issue that has come up often in Louisiana, but if coverage can alleviate anxiety and risk it’s absolutely something homeowners and property owners should consult their agent about,” he said.
Earth movement or subsidence insurance is generally excluded from homeowners’ policies, as is flood insurance, but property owners can secure the coverage through their insurers as an add-on, called an endorsement.
Eugene Montgomery, owner of Community Financial Insurance Center in northern Louisiana, said a subsidence endorsement to cover earthquake damage would generally be inexpensive in Louisiana because of the low risk.
“The coverage itself is inexpensive, but the deductible would be high,” Montgomery told USA Today Network.
That’s the case for one Shreveport homeowner who asked not to be identified. The homeowner secured a subsidence endorsement following Thursday’s earthquake that cost $120 per year after discounts with a 10% deductible.
Republican state Sen. Adam Bass, who also operates an Allstate agency in Bossier, said most people won’t buy an add-on that’s not required by their mortgage holders no matter how inexpensive it is.
Bass said he hasn’t had any inquiries about earth movement insurance during his career.
But Montgomery said he remembers a temporary spike in those policies in 1990 when climatologist Iben Brown predicted a major earthquake would strike the New Madrid Fault in Missouri on Dec. 3 of that year, a forecast that flopped.
“It really created a little bit of a panic,” Montgomery said. “Everybody wanted insurance for a short period of time.”
Montgomery doesn’t expect a similar run on earthquake after Thursday’s event, but said he won’t be surprised if some level of interest increases.
“When people can actually feel the earth moving it gets their attention,” he said.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
WASHINGTON (WAFB) — President Donald Trump has removed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Noem will take on the role of Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation responded to the change in leadership.
Kennedy clash preceded removal
Noem led DHS since the beginning of Trump’s second term. One of the most noted controversies of her tenure was the department’s spending of $220 million on television ads across the country, which drew scrutiny from Sen. John Kennedy during a committee hearing.
“Did the President know you were going to do this?” Kennedy asked during the hearing.
“Yes,” Noem replied.
Kennedy said the spending and other issues had weighed on him.
“You just add all of this up and the other turmoil and it’s been stuck in my craw,” Kennedy said. “I want to secure the border and I want to enforce our immigration laws, but I’m tired of trying to explain behavior that is inexplicable to me.”
Louisiana delegation reacts
Congressman Cleo Fields wrote on X that Noem “was not qualified to lead one of the most critical agencies in our federal government, and her tenure made it clear that she was not the right person for this role,” adding that “there is far too much at stake for anything less than exemplary leadership.”
Congressman Troy Carter, who held a congressional hearing in New Orleans regarding DHS issues, said that under Noem’s leadership, DHS and ICE “repeatedly carried out aggressive immigration operations without proper coordination with local leaders, disregarded due process, and created fear and instability in communities that deserve respect and protection under the law.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy said on social media that “securing the border is one of President Trump’s greatest achievements” and that he looks forward “to continue that success and ensure FEMA delivers for Louisiana families.”
As with all cabinet positions, Mullin will need to go through Senate confirmation to gain the cabinet seat. It is unclear when confirmation hearings will take place.
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