Hunting Could Return To New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — Hunting could return to a big chunk of New Orleans where it has been banned since 1991. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries recommended the action for control of feral hogs and to allow youth waterfowl hunting on the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, according to a news release, and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted Tuesday to remove the restriction. The commission banned hunting in the area when Bayou Sauvage — the nation’s largest urban wildlife refuge — was being established. The refuge has held youth waterfowl hunts for the past two years and plans a third. “It seems to be growing in popularity every year,” said Keith Westlake, wildlife refuge specialist for Bayou Sauvage. He said 1,100 young hunters came in 2010 and 1,132 last year. Read more in the Times Picayune.