UPDATE (4/9/2024)

Emergency Action Needed To Save Louisiana Black Bears! 
Please Read & Complete The Calls To Action.

In February, despite strong opposition, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) voted to open a bear hunting season, which is set to start in December of this year. LDWF wants to issue ten hunting licenses through a lottery system to kill ten black bears.

On March 1, 2024, Rep. Neil Riser introduced Louisiana House Bill HB 684, which authorizes Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commissioners to create a bear killing permit lottery, establish a lottery application fee, dedicate funds to a black bear account, and allow the feeding of wild bears for baiting. HB 684 has passed the House and is in the Senate; it was placed on the calendar and is scheduled for a second reading. If passed, HB 684 would establish a bear hunting season for the state's imperiled black bears, who continue to face new and evergrowing threats to their existence. 

This bill must be passed for the LDWF to establish a bear hunting season, which means we still have a chance to stop the hunt. 

Please complete the calls to action listed below. 
Email all the Louisiana Senators and respectfully ask them to vote NO on HB 684.
abrahamm@legis.la.gov, sen21@legis.la.gov, barrowr@legis.la.gov, boudreauxg@legis.la.gov, bouiej@legis.la.gov, carterg@legis.la.gov, sen33@legis.la.gov, sen28@legis.la.gov, connickp@legis.la.gov, sen23@legis.la.gov, SEN05@legis.la.gov, sen06@legis.la.gov, sen20@legis.la.gov, sen14@legis.la.gov, sen14@legis.la.gov, foilf@legis.la.gov, harrisj@legis.la.gov,  henryc@legis.la.gov, sen26@legis.la.gov, sen13@legis.la.gov, jacksonk@legis.la.gov, sen39@legis.la.gov, sen17@legis.la.gov, sen17@legis.la.gov, lamberte@legis.la.gov, luneauj@legis.la.gov, sen11@legis.la.gov,  sen22@legis.la.gov, sen19@legis.la.gov, mizellb@legis.la.gov, morrisjc@legis.la.gov, sen01@legis.la.gov, sen38@legis.la.gov, pricee@legis.la.gov, sen30@legis.la.gov, sen30@legis.la.gov, sen31@legis.la.gov, sen27@legis.la.gov,  talbotk@legis.la.gov, sen37@legis.la.gov, sen32@legis.la.gov

Call the Senators. Their information can be found at the link below.https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Bios.aspx?cid=S

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Update: The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) has adopted a notice of intent for a bear hunting season.

Public comment on the notice of intent (NOI) will be accepted through Feb. 5, 2024, at 4 p.m. and can be submitted to LDWF Large Carnivore Program Manager John Hanks at jhanks@wlf.la.gov or 318-343-8325.

We also urge you to contact the LDWF Commissioners directly. Their email addresses are located below. Copy and paste the emails into the BCC section when emailing the commissioners.
.
LDWF Commissioner Email Addresses.
asunseri@cox.net, decuirbj@gmail.com, hegenereynolds@gmail.com, andrew@pearlbrandseafood.com, andy.brister@gmail.com, kevinsag1@bellsouth.net.

Sign and share our petition.

___________________________________________________________________________

Previous Petition Content.

We, the undersigned, strongly oppose Senate Bill 86 (SB 86), which would establish a bear hunting season in Louisiana beginning in 2023.

Senator Stewart Cathey is the bill's sponsor, and it is supported by Senator Jay Luneau, who co-authored the bill, and Representative Neil Riser, a known trophy hunter who once killed a polar bear. The bill is currently pending approval by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. This is an industry-driven bill that puts politics and profits before all else. It benefits wealthy landowners, foresters, farmers, and other resource-based industries who, instead of using non-lethal methods that promote coexistence with bears, would rather charge bear/trophy hunters a fee to kill bears on their private property. 

Senator Cathey said, "It's clear to me the population can support a hunting season with responsible management." Yet, he is not a biologist and no scientific data supports his claim. 

Around 80,000 black bears once roamed more than 24 million acres of Louisiana and parts of Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi until bear hunting and rapid deforestation pushed the bears to the brink of extinction. By the 1950s, only an estimated 80-120 bears and only 4 million acres of bear habitat were left. In 1992, Louisiana black bears were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In 2016, Louisiana's bears were removed from the endangered species list. Soon after, local conservation organizations Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, the environmental legal group PEER, and others filed a lawsuit to relist the bears under the ESA. They said that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) fell short of adhering to the recovery guidelines they established in the 1990s by failing to protect critical corridors needed to connect three isolated subpopulations of bears. These critical wildlife corridors are required to create genetic diversity. The loss of genetic diversity and the likelihood of inbreeding can result in reduced survival, longevity, and productivity of the species. 

Those in favor of opening up a bear hunting season are pushing a false narrative that bears are overpopulating and threaten human safety. The truth is black bears are predominantly vegetarian and prefer plant-based foods over meat. They are generally a shy, elusive species. It is also important to note that science and data have proven that hunting does not reduce bear-human conflicts, and bears regulate their own populations through a biological process known as delayed implantation. Delayed implantation is nature's way of keeping bear populations in check. When bears have an abundant food supply, more bears will be born. When food is scarce, female bears will not reproduce every two years but every 3 to 4 years.

An increase in the number of bear sightings in residential areas is likely due to bear attractants such as unsecured trash, bird feeders, and bait stations used to attract deer, but this does not indicate a population increase. We as humans need to address and acknowledge that our actions impact bear behavior and, more often than not, we are the cause of conflicts/encounters. Managing our habits, understanding how they influence bears, and adjusting our activities will solve bear-human conflicts, not hunting.

Learn how to make your own bear-resistant trashcan.

Learn to coexist with bears.

Calls to action!
Contact Louisiana Lawmakers and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and tell them you oppose SB 86 and the hunting of bears in Louisiana. We understand there are many people to email, and we want to make it as easy as possible. Scroll down to the bottom of this petition to copy all of the email addresses for quick emailing. Please be respectful in your messaging.

Contact Louisiana Senators
Stewart Cathey Jr.
Phone: (318)582-5524 
Email: sen33@legis.la.gov

Jay W. Luneau
Phone: (318)484-2288 
Email: luneauj@legis.la.gov

Mark Abraham
Phone: (337)475-3016 
Email: abrahamm@legis.la.gov

Bret R.L. Allain
Phone: (337)828-9107 
Email: allainb@legis.la.gov

Regina Barrow
Phone: (225)359-9400 
Email: barrowr@legis.la.gov

Louie Bernard
Phone: (318)357-3116 
Email: sen31@legis.la.gov

Gerald Boudreaux
Phone: (337)267-7520 
Email: boudreauxg@legis.la.gov

Joseph Bouie
Phone: (504)286-1033 
Email: bouiej@legis.la.gov

Gary Carter
Phone: (504) 361-6600 
Email: carterg@legis.la.gov

Heather Cloud
Phone: (337)461-2595 
Email: sen28@legis.la.gov

Patrick Connick
Phone: (504)371-0240 
Email: connickp@legis.la.gov

Page Patrick Cortez
Phone: (337)993-7430 
Email: cortezp@legis.la.gov

Michael Fesi "Big Mike"
Phone: (985)858-2979 
Email: sen20@legis.la.gov

Cleo Fields
Phone: (225)342-9514 
Email: cfields@legis.la.gov

Franklin J. Foil
Phone: (225)342-6777 
Email: foilf@legis.la.gov

Jimmy Harris
Phone: (504)286-1960 
Email: harrisj@legis.la.gov

Henry Cameron
Phone: (504)838-5433 
Email: henryc@legis.la.gov

Bob Hensgens 
Phone: (337)740-6425 
Email: sen26@legis.la.gov

Sharon Hewitt
Phone: (985)646-6490 Slidell 
Email: hewitts@legis.la.gov

Katrina R. Jackson
Phone: (318)343-2877 
Email: jacksonk@legis.la.gov

Eddie J. Lambert
Phone: (225)673-5048 
Email: lamberte@legis.la.gov

Patrick McMath
Phone: (985)900-6278 
Email: sen11@legis.la.gov

Barry Milligan
Phone: (318)862-3100 
Email: sen38@legis.la.gov

Fred H. Mills Jr.
Phone: (337)845-4240 Parks 
Email: millsf@legis.la.gov

Robert Mills
Phone: (318)371-5200 
Email: sen36@legis.la.gov

Beth Mizell
Phone: (985)839-3936 
Email: mizellb@legis.la.gov

Jay C. Morris "Jay"
Phone: (318)362-4270 
Email: morrisjc@legis.la.gov

Barrow Peacock
Phone: (318)741-7180 
Email: peacockb@legis.la.gov

Karen Carter Peterson
Phone: (504)568-8346 
Email: petersonk@legis.la.gov

Rogers J. Pope
Phone: (225)667-3588
Email: poper@legis.la.gov

Edward Price Jr.
Phone: (225)644-6738
Email: pricee@legis.la.gov

Mike Reese
Phone: (337)238-6435
Email: sen30@legis.la.gov

Gary L. Smith Jr.
Phone: (985)764-9122
Email: smithgl@legis.la.gov

Jeremy Stine
Phone: (337)491-2016
Email: sen27@legis.la.gov

Kirk Talbot
Phone: (504)736-7299
Email: talbotk@legis.la.gov

Gregory Tarver
Phone: (318)227-1499
Email: tarverg@legis.la.gov

Rick Ward
Phone: (225)246-8838
Email: wardr@legis.la.gov

Mack White "Bodi"
Phone: (225)272-1324
Email: whitem@legis.la.gov

Glen Womack
Phone: (318)744-0005
Email: sen32@legis.la.gov

Contact the Louisiana House of Representatives (House Natural Resources And Environment).
Chairman, Jean-Paul Coussan
Phone: (337) 262-2400
Email: coussanjp@legis.la.gov

Vice-Chair, Ryan Bourriaque
Phone: (337) 893-5035
Email: hse047@legis.la.gov

Rhonda Gaye Butler
Phone: (337) 363-3900
Email: hse038@legis.la.gov

Dewith R. Carrier
Phone: (318) 335-0206
Email: hse032@legis.la.gov

Mack Cormier
Phone: (504) 356-3013
Email: hse105@legis.la.gov

Adrian Fisher
Phone: (318) 556-7001
Email: hse016@legis.la.gov

Brett F. Geymann
Phone: (337)855-8133
Email: hse035@legis.la.gov

Timothy P. Kerner
Phone: (504) 689-7725
Email: hse084@legis.la.gov

Mandie Landry
Phone: (504) 895-2526
Email: hse091@legis.la.gov

Buddy Mincey Jr.
Phone: (225) 667-6088
Email: hse071@legis.la.gov

Joseph A. Orgeron
Phone: (985) 693-9000
Email: hse054@legis.la.gov

Neil Riser
Phone: (318) 649-0977
Email: risern@legis.la.gov

Troy D. Romero
Phone: (337) 824-0376
Email: hse037@legis.la.gov

Rodney Schamerhorn
Phone: (318) 565-4959
Email: hse024@legis.la.gov

William "Bill" Wheat Jr.
Phone: (985) 386-7844
Email: hse073@legis.la.gov

Tanner Magee
Phone: (985) 858-2970
Email: mageet@legis.la.gov

Clay Schexnayder
Phone: (225) 473-6016
Email: schexnayderc@legis.la.gov

Contact Louisiana Senators 
sen33@legis.la.gov, luneauj@legis.la.gov, abrahamm@legis.la.gov, allainb@legis.la.gov, barrowr@legis.la.gov, sen31@legis.la.gov, boudreauxg@legis.la.gov, bouiej@legis.la.gov, carterg@legis.la.gov, sen28@legis.la.gov, connickp@legis.la.gov, cortezp@legis.la.gov, sen20@legis.la.gov, cfields@legis.la.gov, foilf@legis.la.gov, harrisj@legis.la.gov, henryc@legis.la.gov, sen26@legis.la.gov, hewitts@legis.la.gov, jacksonk@legis.la.gov, lamberte@legis.la.gov, sen11@legis.la.gov, sen38@legis.la.gov, millsf@legis.la.gov, sen36@legis.la.gov, mizellb@legis.la.gov, morrisjc@legis.la.gov, peacockb@legis.la.gov, petersonk@legis.la.gov, poper@legis.la.gov, pricee@legis.la.gov, sen30@legis.la.gov, smithgl@legis.la.gov, sen27@legis.la.gov, talbotk@legis.la.gov, tarverg@legis.la.gov, wardr@legis.la.gov, whitem@legis.la.gov, sen32@legis.la.gov

Contact Louisiana Representatives
coussanjp@legis.la.gov, hse047@legis.la.gov, hse038@legis.la.gov, hse032@legis.la.gov, hse105@legis.la.gov, hse016@legis.la.gov, hse035@legis.la.gov, hse084@legis.la.gov, hse091@legis.la.gov, hse071@legis.la.gov, hse054@legis.la.gov, risern@legis.la.gov, hse037@legis.la.gov, hse024@legis.la.gov, hse073@legis.la.gov, mageet@legis.la.gov, schexnayderc@legis.la.gov

https://www.oneprotest.org/