Committee urges Congress to fund sheriffs patrolling Casacci National Forest

The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee reported favorably on House Resolution 267, which memorializes Congress to provide funding for law enforcement and emergency responders in the parishes that include the Casacci National Forest.

The resolution’s introducer told the committee the forest covers more than 600,000 acres across seven parishes in central and north Louisiana and that local sheriffs are incurring patrol expenses with little or no federal reimbursement. "In 2024 in my parish of Grant, which has the most acres of Casacci National Forest, almost 145,000 acres, the sheriff's department incurred $328,000 of expenses, but received 0 compensation from the federal government to patrol the forest," the introducer said. The speaker also said the parish school board received $223,000 in 2024 from the area that includes the federal land.

Committee members asked whether federal law mandates such funding. One committee member clarified that the land is a national forest, not a national park, and the introducer responded that there is no standing federal mandate guaranteeing reimbursement: "We've never gotten it. Now that's why you're asking for it."

Representative Wiley and other members said the request has been discussed for many years without resolution. At the committee’s request, the resolution was moved and reported favorably; a voice vote recorded no objections.

The resolution asks Congress to act but does not bind the state to provide funding. The committee did not adopt specific dollar allocations or a mechanism for federal reimbursement during the meeting.