In coastal Louisiana, the dredging of canals and associated spoil deposits have resulted in the 

 unintentional impoundment of large wetland areas. These unintentional impoundments have been 

 shown to exhibit high rates of wetland loss (Turner 1987). In many instances, however, the 

 degradation and loss of wetlands in these existing unintentional impoundments could be reversed 

 through the installation and operation of water control structures to provide water level md salinity 

 control management as was conducted at Little Pecan. 



Waterfowl Harvest 



Detailed waterfowl harvest data were collected at LPWMA from 1975-87. No comparable 

 harvest statistics from outside sources are available for analysis. 



Harvest data from LPWMA can be correlated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fall flight 

 forecast (Table 3). LPWMA harvest data for 1975 through 1985 were used for discussion since 

 hunting days and bag limits were constant. Years 1982-83 and 1984-85 were omitted from 

 discussion because fall floods reduced hunter success and waterfowl utilization. 



Fall flight forecasts were relatively high during 1975 (96 million), but hunter harvest at LPWMA 

 (4.2 birds/hunter/day) was rather low. Poor habitat conditions from 1975-76 to 1977-78 limited 

 hunter success and waterfowl use. As the management program progressed, hunter success 

 increased and peaked in 1980-81 (7.9 birds/hunter/day), despite a drop in the fall flight forecast 

 from 95 million in 1979-80 to 80 million in 1980-81. After 1980-81, hunter success declined as a 

 result of reduced continental waterfowl populations, semi-impoundment drawdowns prior to hunting 

 season, and reduced season lengths and bag limits. 



Data from 8 of the 12 hunting seasons were used for statistical analysis, since season lengths, bag 

 limits, and environmental conditions remained constant. Hunting seasons 1982-83 and 1984-85 were 



Table 3. The relationship between the average number of birds 

 harvested/hunter/day at Little Pecan Wildlife Management Area, 

 Cameron Parish, LA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fall 

 flight forecasts. 



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