Thanksgiving hunt

Boeufs GT is on the downhill trend anyway. So much undergrowth and trash trees have taken it over.

Hunted w a guy this past week who’s hunted there 20 yrs. Said the state and DU used to take really good care of it. Not so much any more.

 

That must be the trend. I’m not sure you can even call the one on Richard K. Yancey a green tree any more. The last time I went it was all buck brush, willows and salvainia.

 

I feel like I mentioned this before in another thread, but while working one summer in North La I ran into a guy who hunted the Beouf GTs. He claimed they weed eated/chainsawed and sprayed their spots to keep the unwanted out.

 

The change in hydrology will do that. Hunters want water to hunt every year in Nov on the opener and then blame LDWF for mismanaging the resource.

 

It wouldn't matter anyhow. When you do find a LDWF Biologist that really gives a **** and wants to do the right thing they can't because they don't have the money to do it with.

 

Maybe they have too much to manage. The red oaks along the ridge adjacent the GTR were dying 20 years ago. I guess the prudent (and cheapest) thing to do would be allow the Beouf River to flood it when ready, but like I said.

 

Not much experience with that devil weed but I do know a guy who owns a 50 acre 'lake' in arkansas.
He pays a cropduster guy to spray it with agent orange or something.

 

They didn’t pump it last yr in hopes of that very thing. I can’t speak on what happened in the last 20 yrs there, but I have a feeling they left the water on it to long. The last 10 yrs I’ve gone, Feb- Sept it’s closed to public access so I’d assume they drain it then, but I doubt it based on all the dying oaks.

I first saw Salvinia on Boeuf 2 yrs ago and it was contained to one lake. If there was ever a time to spray it and stop the spreading it was then. It didn’t happen. Now it’s on the loose. The majority of all the lakes off the river have it now too. I don’t know how effective the spray is, but this stuff is THICK in them lakes.

 

The damage is long-since done, amigo, and will take decades to return. Very subtle changes can make a big difference. I'm seeing hydrology (wetter) on a piece of private land I frequent caused by beavers, siltation, and reduced drainage capacity.

Salvinia is a whole other ball of wax.

 

Manatees and hippopotamuses will eat the hell out of Salvinia. The problem with hippos is that they will come out of the water at night and can destroy property due to their size. The manatees were tried many years ago without much success do to high mortality in winter. They need warm water year round. Solution: 1. Release manatees in spring and remove in fall. 2. LSU breeds a manatee that can survive cold weather. Of course this means we will need a manatee leader to go with our state duck leader.