The Jackson Parish Watershed District Board held their regular monthly session on February 20th at the Jackson Parish Police Jury Administration Building with the main topic of discussion related to the issuing of duck hunting permits on Caney Lake.

Since the beginning of Caney Lake through the 2024-2025 hunting season, the Jackson Parish Watershed has issued duck blind permits for waterfowl hunters and charged a fee for site specific spots on the lake. The fees collected were used for upkeep of the buoys, parking lots, lighting, piers, restrooms and other maintenance items.

Gary Joynor, President of the Jackson Parish Watershed Board, recently learned that an opinion rendered by the Attorney General of Louisiana stated that “The boards
power to regulate duck hunting, specifically the authority to issue duck blind
permits and charge a fee, and the authority to construct and to control
construction of duck blinds was repealed by the subsequent passage of Act 830
of the 1993 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature. By passage of this act,
the state reserved unto itself the right to regulate all aspects of hunting, fishing,
and boating. Thus the board does not have the authority to issue duck blind
permits or charge a fee for such permits.”

This opinion was read to all of the attendees at the meeting that consisted of
LDWF agents, LDWF biologist, homeowners, and waterfowl hunters present leading to much discussion. In the end, no action was taken regarding issuing duck blind permits and charging a fee moving forward.

In additional business,  board members also discussed the problem of duck blind vandalism on Caney over the last three years that was reported to Jackson Parish Sheriff’s office.

The Jackson Parish Watershed Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm on March 20th, 2025.