Circle of Life


If you have any reservations about hunting the once-endangered alligator, rest assured that the reptiles are now plentiful and thoroughly and effectively managed via Louisiana’s Marsh to Market program.

Landowners like Morgan Perrin are issued a predetermined number of tags by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Morgan says he was given 47 for 2002, and all but nine had been used by the time the Sigarms hunt was scheduled. Even if no hunters had come, the tags would’ve been filled because biologists wanted that many ‘gators taken off Perrin’s holdings.

The state’s 30-year-old Marsh to Market program offers landowners the incentive not to drain the marshes, which benefit both waterfowl and a host of other wildlife. Once harvested and tagged, the landowners can trade in the hides and meat - and, in Morgan’s case, reap the benefits of selling hunts.

Landowners are also able to gather and sell alligator eggs to commercial farms, where they are incubated and the hatchlings raised for the skins and meat markets. Seventy-five percent of the world’s alligator hides come from Louisiana.
In Morgan’s case, many of the hatchlings are returned to his land when they’re a year or two old, which, in effect, guarantees an even greater number of ‘gators than the number that would’ve survived if the eggs were left in the marsh. Only 17 percent of the wild hatchlings survive, and that’s after the eggs have withstood the elements (floods and intense heat) and predators.

The project’s proud managers have been outspoken in trying to dispel the incorrect notion that harvesting alligators is detrimental. They’ve even gone as far to say that every purchase of an alligator product - purse, wallet, belt, shoes, etc. — supports not only ‘gators, but also wetlands conservation, waterfowl and other species of wildlife.
Alligator hunting (bow or gun) is the latest offering of The Lodge of Louisiana, so new in fact that operator Bo Hamilton hadn’t even decided what he’ll charge when this story was written. The main draw for this floating bed and breakfast is chartered fishing, duck hunting and combination packages. He was looking for a way to build business in September, and it looks like he’s found it!

For more information about any of the hunting or fishing packages, write The Lodge of Louisiana, 4800 Anthony Lane, Barataria, LA 70036; call (504) 689-0000; or e-mail them at: info@lodgeoflouisiana.com. To learn more about Blaser and Sig Sauer rifles, visit:
www.sigarms.com/products/rifles.asp