NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY: 10 a.m. two-hour, ranger-led hike, Poverty Point World Heritage Site, 6859 La. 577, Pioneer. Website: LaStateParks.com. Fees waived for all national parks and all federal public lands.
HUNTING SEASONS
DOVES: North Zone: through Sept. 28 & Oct. 5-Nov. 9. South Zone closed.
TEAL: Through Sept. 29. Season also allows for take of rails & gallinules.
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DEER/ARCHERY: Oct. 1-Jan. 31, State Deer Areas 1, 2 & 4; Oct. 1-15, State Deer Areas 5, 6 & 9 (bucks only), then Oct. 16-Feb. 15; through Jan. 15, State Deer Areas 3, 7, 8 & 10; . Either-sex take allowed through except in areas with bucks-only take during archery and firearms seasons.
RABBITS/SQUIRRELS: Oct. 5-Feb. 28, private lands only. Selected state wildlife management areas listed in 2024-2025 Louisiana Hunting Regulations pamphlet.
LOTTERY HUNTS
BLACK BEAR: Sept. 25 application deadline for 10 permits in selected areas in northeast Louisiana for Dec. 7-22 season. Fee $50 with valid black bear hunting license. Application website: louisianaoutdoors.com/lottery-applications.
WATERFOWL/APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sept. 30 for physically challenged/disabled veterans & ages 10-17 on select Wildlife & Fisheries wildlife management areas. General public lottery hunts set for Sherburne & Bayou Pierre WMAs. Application website: louisianaoutdoors.com/lottery-applications. $8.50 fee. Email David Hayden: dhayden@wlf.la.gov
WHITE LAKE WATERFOWL/APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sept. 30 for Nov. 2 & Nov. 3 youth-only hunt (ages 10-17), 30 marsh hunts & 30 rice field hunts on White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. Application website: louisianaoutdoors.com/lottery-applications. $8.50 fee. Call Lance Ardoin (337) 536-6061/Email: lardoin@wlf.la.gov
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AROUND THE CORNER
SEPT. 29—SOUTH LOUISIANA HIGHPOWER CLUB MATCH: 8:30 a.m., Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Range, St. Landry Road, Gonzales. NRA match rifle or service rifle, 200-yard/50-rounds match course & Prone Match. Fee $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 juniors. $25 annual club (first match free)& Civilian Marksmanship Program membership (allows purchases from CMP). Call (337) 380-8120. Email Mike Burke: SouthLaHighPower@hotmail.com
OCT. 3—JUNIOR SOUTHWEST BASSMASTERS MEETING: 7 p.m., Seminar Room, Bass Pro Shops, Denham Springs. Boys & girls age-group bass tournaments for ages 7-10, 11-14 & 15-18 anglers. Call Jim Breaux (225) 772-3026.
OCT. 4-7—COLDWATER FLY FISHING WEEKEND: White River/Buffalo River/Crooked Creek, Arkansas. Red Stick Fly Fishers event. Call Cole Miller (225) 921-9192. Email: cole.miller@theldsgroup.com
FISHING/SHRIMPING
SHRIMP: All inshore & outside waters open.
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SPECKLED TROUT: New regulations: 15 per day measuring 13-20 inches with 2 trout more than 20 inches allowed in daily catch.
REDFISH: New regulations: 4-fish daily limit, 18-27 inches “slot” limit, no redfish more than 27 inches long.
OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Recreational, state for-hire red snapper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack; southern flounder; lane, blackfin, queen and silk snappers & wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed red, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.
CLOSED SEASONS: Federal for-hire red snapper permit holders; gag, red, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.
LDWF UPDATES
-Lake drawdowns: False River, Henderson, Lake D’Arbonne, Saline, Iatt, Bistineau & Lafourche (Caldwell Parish) lakes underway.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Louisiana was one of the few states chosen for a $134 million rare earth element initiative in a move that would give the U.S. more independence from China, Reuters reports.
ElementUSA has been awarded about $67 million for a rare earth refining facility projected to cost $850 million in St. John the Baptist Parish to ramp up its production of core material for military vehicles, naval ships and aircrafts.
Louisiana’s rare earth element initiatives are aimed at relocating the critical American minerals supply chain for electric vehicles, renewable energy and national defense. The minerals include bauxite residue, which is a waste product from aluminium production. The plant is expected to produce roughly 150-1,000 metric tons of rare earths annually.
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Oklahoma was also chosen to receive grant money for a refining facility in Tulsa.
A Department of Homeland Security watchdog report revealed that staff members at an ICE detention center in Louisiana used a prohibited chokehold to “gain control” of a person being held there and stabbed another in the hand with a pen when an officer could not close the door to a housing unit.
The newly released findings about Winn Correctional Center in central Louisiana follow the DHS inspector general’s review of video of the use-of-force incidents as part of an unannounced facility inspection. The report, which was published on the DHS website, also noted that the officer who stabbed the detainee with a pen was disciplined.
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Staff members failed to maintain safe and sanitary conditions, the report says, noting leaking vents and ceilings with insulation falling through. Staff members used napkins and Styrofoam containers to collect the water from the leaks, according to the report.
Scrutiny of conditions inside ICE detention centers that house more than 60,000 detainees has been growing.
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Earlier Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended his agency’s detention standards on Capitol Hill amid complaints about ICE’s Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. That center has been the site of frequent protests.
Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., accused Mullin of leaving detainees without food or medical care.
Mullin rejected the claims. “You can say all you want, but don’t accuse me of something that’s not accurate,” he said.
The inspector general made nine recommendations, ranging from environmental health and safety standards to proper handling of use-of-force incidents and maintaining food service standards.
ICE is working to address all of the issues, including by providing additional staff training, a spokesperson for the agency said.
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“These minor infractions included failing to provide detainees exercise equipment, record keeping errors and leaking vents. Another infraction included providing a shared computer for legal research that would allow other detainees to see other detainees’ case information,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for DHS said the report shows that the facility complies with detention standards.
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the spokesperson said.
Winn Correctional is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country, housing more than 1,500 men. It opened in 1990, and ICE took it over from the state in 2019.
The report was produced after an unannounced inspection by the DHS inspector general, whose office recently got an infusion of $20 million and plans to boost its inspections from four to six per year to potentially as many as 40 to 60.
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ICE lists 70% of the 1,500 detainees at Winn as having “No ICE threat level,” meaning they do not have violent criminal histories.
Winn is an hour north of Alexandria, which is one of four hubs for ICE deportation flights around the country.
METAIRIE, La. (WVUE) – Louisiana insurance officials will hold a press conference Wednesday to acknowledge the retirement of bonds issued after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation leadership will provide an update on the state-backed insurer as hurricane season begins.
The press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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