Red River WMA

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