Wildlife Action Plan

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• The goal is to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered.
• This is a rigorous science-based process to determine priorities for declining wildlife and habitat.
• This effort is asking: What are the species and habitats in trouble? Why are they in trouble? Most importantly, what are we going to do about it?
• This is an historic effort: this kind of comprehensive effort has never been done before in our state, and every other state is also doing it at the same time.
• We are working with a broad cross section of our state to get this done.
• This effort has emerged through the work of a broad national bipartisan wildlife conservation coalition, called Teaming with Wildlife. Teaming With Wildlife includes more than 3000 organizations nationwide.
• This is not just a planning exercise - the strategies will guide the existing State Wildlife Grants program and should lead to future additional money.
• The task of conserving declining wildlife is challenging but we know success is possible from our history with wildlife conservation successes like the wild turkey, white-tailed deer, the Bald Eagle, and striped bass.
• This strategy is:
  • NOT a regulatory plan
  • NOT a land use plan
  • NOT a land acquisition plan
  • NOT a new threatened/endangered species plan
• This strategy will be a living document that will continuously undergo revisions as current strategy goals are met and new goals are developed and implemented.

What is the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy?

To establish eligibility for State Wildlife Grant funds, each State, Territory, or other jurisdiction was required to submit a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by October 1, 2005. Each Plan was required to include eight elements that detail the species and habitats covered, the conservation actions proposed, procedures to review the Plan, and coordination with the public and other agencies.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was the agency charged with completing this conservation strategy for Louisiana. We coordinated its development with state and federal agencies, conservation groups, industry, and the general public.

Our goal was to develop a strategy which reflects the knowledge, expertise, and priorities of people who understand the issues, challenges, and threats to our diverse fish and wildlife species. This strategy provides an essential foundation in how this department will operate in the management and conservation of Louisiana's wildlife and fisheries resources.