Concordia

Red River Wildlife Management Area is located approximately 35 miles south of Ferriday on Louisiana Hwy. 15 in lower Concordia Parish. Louisiana State Highway 15, Highway 910, and a gravel levee provide all weather access. Gravel oil field roads and numerous woods roads traverse the interior.

Red River presently consists of 41681 acres. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries owns 29,964 acres and an additional 11,717 acres is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The area is low, flat and poorly drained, and subject to annual flooding by the Red and Mississippi Rivers and Cocodrie Bayou.

Timber consists of mixed bottomland hardwood. The primary overstory species are bitter pecan, overcup oak, Nuttall oak, cypress, sweet pecan, honey locust, willow, hackberry, cottonwood, sycamore and green ash. The timber stand is rather sparse over a large part of the area due to heavy cutting operations prior to the purchase by the Department. The understory species present are swamp privet, water elm, buttonbush, box elder, smilax, trumpet creeper, poison ivy, peppervine, rough leaf dogwood, deciduous holly, hawthorn, rattan, dewberry, blackberry, and seedlings of the overstory.

Approximately 265,000 hardwood seedlings have been planted on approximately 800 acres of former agricultural land. Abandoned oil well sites and rights-of-way are clipped annually and maintained as wildlife openings.

Game species hunted are deer, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, woodcock, dove, snipe and waterfowl. Trapping for furbearers is permitted. The major species of furbearers caught are raccoon, nutria, mink, bobcat, fox, otter, beaver and coyote.

An annual public lottery alligator hunt allows successful applicants to take 5 alligators each.

The area offers excellent sport and limited commercial fishing opportunities. Species caught are bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish. Commercial species primarily caught are buffalo, carp, drum, gar, bowfin, and catfish. Frogging and crayfishing are also very popular on this area. A wide variety of non-game wildlife, common to the bottomland hardwood habitat, is present for the non-consumative wildlife enthusiast.

The endangered species which may occur on Red River Wildlife Management Area are the Bald Eagle and LA Black Bear.

A greentree reservoir and agricultural waterfowl project are operational.

Three primitive camping areas have been constructed and are maintained by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. All weather access is provided.

Additional information may be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Opelousas Field Office, 5652 Hwy 182, Opelousas, LA  70570.  (337) 948-0255

Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area is located in the southern tip of Concordia Parish approximately 50 miles south of Vidalia. It lies between the Mississippi and Red Rivers just north of Lower Old River, thus the name. Primary access routes are Louisiana Highways 15 and 910. Interior access is provided by an all-weather shell road that traverses the entire width of the area just north of the Old River outflow channel and a network of unimproved roads and trails. Additional access is afforded by boat along Red River and the numerous bayous of this tract.

Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area consists of 26,295 acres of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries property and 1,085 acres of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property, totaling 27,380 acres.

The terrain is typically flat to depressed, with the only significant changes in relief being elevated roads, levees, and a large man-made sand ridge. Numerous small lakes and bayous are formed by this relatively poor drainage pattern and a large portion of the land is subject to annual spring flooding. This highly productive spring overflow conditions produces excellent sport and commercial fishing.

The forest overstory is classified as bottomland hardwoods. Elevation is a primary factor determining the distribution of tree species in the overstory. Overcup oak, bitter pecan, honey locust, Nuttal oak and cypress are trees found on the lower elevations. On the river front lands and at intermediate elevations hackberry, ash, sweet pecan, Nuttall oak, box elder, and sycamore are the primary tree species. Cottonwood and willow occur in almost pure stands along the man-made sand ridge.

Understory composition and density is influenced by relief characteristics and the duration of spring flooding. Species found on lower elevations are swamp-privet, buttonbush, and hawthorn. On the intermediate to higher contours, box elder, dewberry, poison ivy, swamp dogwood, rattan and green-brier are found.

Game species attracting the greatest hunter participation are deer, turkey, squirrels, and waterfowl, with rabbits and woodcock being of secondary importance. Furbearers available to trappers are raccoon, mink, nutria, beaver, bobcat, fox, otter, beaver and coyote. A wide variety of non-game wildlife common to the bottomland hardwood habitat is present for the non-consumptive wildlife enthusiast.

The area offers limited sport and commercial fishing opportunities. Species caught are bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish. Primary commercial species caught are buffalo, carp, drum, gar, bowfin and catfish. Crayfish and frogging are also popular on this area. A public lottery hunt for alligators has been conducted in recent years, and successful applicants receives 5 tags per hunter.

Endangered species which may occur on Three Rivers are Bald Eagle, LA Black Bear.

Three primitive camping areas have been constructed and are maintained by the Department. All weather access, a source of potable water and comfort stations are available at the Shell Road camping area.

Additional information may be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Opelousas Field Office, 5652 Hwy 182, Opelousas, LA  70570.  (337) 948-0255