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Committee backs resolution urging federal review of dog‑hunting restrictions in Kisatchie National Forest
Summary
The House Natural Resources Committee reported HCR 79 favorable after supporters described deer-dog hunting as a long-standing rural tradition and the Louisiana Wildlife Federation cautioned that lifting restrictions has produced user-group conflicts in the Kisatchie National Forest.
Chairman Butler introduced HCR 79, which memorializes Congress and the U.S. Forest Service to take action to allow use of dogs for hunting in the Kisatchie National Forest. Butler framed the issue as a cultural tradition in many rural Louisiana communities and called the practice a family activity passed down across generations.
Don Gohmert, who identified himself as a Rapides Parish resident and a former state director for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, told the committee the Forest Service stopped recognizing deer-dog hunting in the Kisatchie about a decade ago and that hunters lost a subsequent legal challenge. "The Forest Service provided a lot of erroneous information," Gohmert said, describing parish resolutions and sheriff statements he said showed limited enforcement problems in the past.
Rick Owens of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation testified in opposition. Owens said the federation supports hunting and supports the wounded‑animal recovery component of the resolution, but he said removing restrictions on deer‑ and hog‑hunting with dogs on Kisatchie previously created "user group conflict" that contributed to the Forest Service decision. Owens told the committee the recovery-of-wounded-game provision is sensible and that state regulations already improved some conflicts.
Representative DeWitt moved the resolution favorably; the chair asked if there was objection and, seeing none, reported HCR 79 favorable.
The committee took no recorded roll-call vote; members spoke briefly in support and asked sponsors and opponents about enforcement and the practical effects of prior Forest Service rules. The resolution asks federal authorities to review policies and does not itself change state statute. The committee’s action advances HCR 79 to the next legislative stage.
