BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will move forward with creating a modern black bear hunting season next month. The LDWF Commission will meet on November 2 in Baton Rouge to discuss numerous items on the monthly meeting agenda including black bears. 

Commissioners directed the LDWF Large Carnivore Program to move forward with drafting a notice of intent to set up a modern black bear hunting season during October’s commission meeting. Louisiana determined it had a stable and growing black bear population which could support regulated harvest. 

Black bears are native to Louisiana but became scarce in the state due to unregulated hunting in the late 1800s. The population has since rebounded and spread across the state. 

Large Carnivore Program Manager John Hanks will present the notice of intent to the commissioners. Public comment periods and legislative hearings would follow if the NOI is approved. The agenda states the NOI will be for a 2024 Louisiana Black Bear hunting season. 

Louisiana’s November Commission meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. A live stream of the meeting will be available on zoom. 

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is working to study its bear population to gain a better understanding of the demographics. Bear Program Coordinator Anthony Ballard Jr. has made strides this summer with research projects. Data from those projects could help support a hunting season for bears further down the road.

Ballard will present information on the black bear program during an educational session on November 16. The educational session will be at 9 a.m. prior to the 10 a.m. business session for MDWFP’s monthly commission meeting in Jackson.

If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, visit MDWFP.com to watch a livestream or check The Daily Leader for stories from the commission meetings.