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Protecting Wildlife Diversity

LDWF’s Wildlife Diversity Program is responsible for conserving Louisiana’s rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species, nongame birds, and natural communities. Program staff conduct, guide, fund, and facilitate research, monitoring, and inventory of Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their associated habitats as identified in LDWF’s Wildlife Action Plan.

The Wildlife Diversity Program maintains a geospatial database of these species and habitats. These data are vital for reviewing proposed construction projects to determine potential adverse impacts to the environment and providing guidance to prevent, minimize, or mitigate such impacts. Researchers and other conservation professionals also request data from the program to inform scientific studies or restoration projects.

Program staff continuously update this database with both new occurrences and new information on existing records. So far, program staff have compiled more than 10,000 occurrence records of rare, threatened, and endangered species, unique natural communities, and other distinct elements of natural diversity and identified more than 350 ecologically significant sites statewide. Although the database is extensive, many natural areas in the state have not been surveyed, and we welcome insight from the public on previously unknown natural areas or elements.

The Wildlife Diversity Program also helps landowners identify, restore, and protect unique natural elements on their properties through the Natural Areas Registry.

 

Contact Us

To most efficiently address Louisiana’s diverse conservation challenges, the Wildlife Diversity Program employs taxonomic experts from several fields—botany, mammology, herpetology, ornithology, and others—as well as experts in data management. These staff members use their extensive knowledge to determine and prioritize beneficial management actions and regularly inform state, regional, and national conservation planning efforts.

Nicole Lorenz
Wildlife Diversity Program Manager
225.765.2643
nlorenz@wlf.la.gov 
Michael Seymour
Biologist Supervisor (Data, Botany, and Community Ecology)/Database Manager
225.763.3554
mseymour@wlf.la.gov
Carolyn Michon
Assistant Database Manager
337.735.8734
cmichon@wlf.la.gov
Rob Dobbs
Nongame Avian Ecologist
337.735.8675
rdobbs@wlf.la.gov
Dustin Garig
Biologist Supervisor (Zoology)
337.735.8679
dgarig@wlf.la.gov
Charles “Chuck” Battaglia
Wildlife Biologist
337.735.8688
cbattaglia@wlf.la.gov
Chris Doffitt
Botanist/Natural Areas Registry Coordinator
318.487.5325
cdoffitt@wlf.la.gov
Keri Lejeune
Herpetologist
337.735.8676
klejeune@wlf.la.gov
Sarabeth Klueh-Mundy
State Wildlife Grants and Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator
225.765.0239
sklueh-mundy@wlf.la.gov
Brian Early
Community Ecologist
225.765.3992
bearly@wlf.la.gov
Eric Baka
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor Coordinator
318.487.5885
ebaka@wlf.la.gov
Layla Tagert
Botanist
225.765.2809
ltagert@wlf.la.gov 

LDWF’s Wildlife Diversity Program is a proud collaborator with NatureServe, which compiles, synthesizes, and disseminates standardized, detailed information on biological diversity across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.