L.D.W.F. to Accept Public Bids for Lease Tracts at White Lake W.C.A.

L.D.W.F. to Accept Public Bids for Lease Tracts at White Lake W.C.A.
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Release Date: 06/08/2012

Agricultural and hunting leases up for competitive public bid summer 2012

June 8, 2012 – Two hunting and agricultural leases on the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area (WCA) will be open for competitive public bid in mid-summer 2012 and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will be accepting bids through Aug. 15, 2012.

The surface leases for two tracts, one totaling 933 acres and one totaling 6,962 acres, will include agricultural property for rice and crawfish farming, plus hunting habitat for waterfowl, dove, rabbit, deer and alligator.

Public waterfowl hunts and lease revenues offset LDWF’s operational costs to maintain the White Lake WCA acreage and facilities which exceed $1 million annually. The department is also facing erosion abatement costs along the Intracoastal Waterway that must be addressed.

The bid packets for tracts E and G, detailing land use stipulations and minimum per acre lease costs, will be available June 8. Interested parties will have access to bid details online via the LDWF website or by mail upon request. Completed bid packages must be returned to LDWF by 10 a.m. on Aug. 15. Following review of all bids submitted, winning bids will be announced in September.

To review additional parcel details, bid forms and a draft lease, visit

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/whitelakeleases on the LDWF website. Anyone without access to the LDWF website can call 225-765-2812 or send a letter of request to:

White Lake Wetlands WCA Bid Process 2012
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
P. O. Box 98000
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000

Agricultural practices will also have to be maintained by those awarded leases in September. The term for all new leases will be approximately nine (9) years with annual lease payments required. LDWF’s public waterfowl hunts, including the annual youth hunt, lottery hunts and corporate hunts, will still be offered by the department on the White Lake property as they have been since 2005.

LDWF began management of White Lake Preserve in 2005 as part of a transition agreement entered into between White Lake Preservation, Inc., and the state of Louisiana, and approved by BP America Production.

The property, near Gueydan in Vermilion Parish, was donated to the state in 2002 by BP and the transfer of management authority was mandated by legislation passed during the 2004 session. The original donation framework granted management control to White Lake Preservation, Inc., a non-profit charitable entity overseen by a designated board. Legislative action, approved in Act 613, placed property management decision-making under the control of LDWF and a 10-member advisory board appointed by the governor.

To request a lease packet, please contact Tracy Mancuso at 225-765-2812 or tmancuso@wlf.la.gov. To obtain details about the bid process, contact Buddy Baker at 225-765-2812 or bbaker@wlf.la.gov. For all media inquiries, please contact Bo Boehringer at 225-765-5115 or bboehringer@wlf.la.gov.