Sportsman's paradise

Louisiana can be portrayed in many different ways. It is a place rich with culture and experiences that sometimes are unique only to where we call home. This is the result of the melting pot of the many different peoples that have migrated here from all over the world, the terrain of the land, and the fact that there is still so much untouched land in Louisiana that we call home. The human world, of course, controls Louisiana just like the rest of the world, but there is one part of Louisiana that we can’t have complete dominion over…the wildlife. This abundance of wildlife is one thing that makes Louisiana so unique to me.
Louisiana is called the sportsman’s paradise for good reason. There are countless places all over our state where seeing half a dozen dear running through a field, a flurry of quail jumping up to take flight, squirrels cutting in the trees, and perch hitting bugs at the water’s surface. Unlike so many places in America Louisiana has developed a way to live in harmony with the local wildlife and actually make the wildlife part of their culture. Our state practices excellent wildlife management to the extent that virtually anyone can step into their backyard to go bird watching, down to the river’s edge to catch a load of smallmouth bass, or into the woods in search of bagging their most sought after game animals.
I have grown up having a special love for our sportsman’s paradise. Some of my earliest memories of my childhood were of me sitting at a camp with my dad all my cousins talking about the wildlife that we saw while in the woods that day. I remember days where me and four cousins would go seining and return to the docks at dusk with over twelve hundred pounds of fish. I’ve spent countless days in a deer stand. Some days I was actually hunting others I was there just to see the wildlife and take in the whole experience. I have too many great experiences involving Louisiana’s wildlife to even begin to recall them all in one day.
I have lived in Louisiana for the majority of my life, and have had the chance to experience a part of Louisiana culture that has become so ingrained in my life that I don’t know what life would be without it. It is a part of Louisiana that I can never forget, and just as my father did, I hope to introduce my children to our sportsman’s paradise.
By: Josh Dear