In an effort to lure former Louisiana anglers back into the ranks of recreational fishing license holders, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has launched an aggressive direct mail campaign. The department is targeting approximately 70,000 lapsed anglers across the state.
By definition, lapsed anglers are those who have purchased a fishing license in previous years but do not currently hold one. Nationwide figures established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that only 15 percent of anglers renew their license every year for a five-year period. The latest survey on Louisiana angler retention conducted in 2004 revealed that 43 percent of anglers bought a recreational fishing license only once out of a three-year test period.
For the 2006-07-license year, LDWF sold 428,003 resident basic fishing licenses, which follows a continual decline from the 592,942 basic fishing licenses sold during the 1995-96 license year. "Our state has countless fishing opportunities ranging from freshwater to saltwater, and it is our agency's duty to stay connected to the angler," says Ashley Wethey, LDWF public relations and marketing coordinator. "We see this new program as a way of connecting to the lapsed angler, increasing license sales and inviting new anglers to the sport of fishing."
The direct mail marketing program will employ an oversized postcard with a message encouraging anglers to purchase a fishing license. As a motivational incentive, LDWF will offer a free "I'd Rather Be Fishing in Louisiana" bumper sticker to those individuals who respond before July 1. Those who do not respond to the initial mailing will be sent a follow-up postcard in mid-July.
David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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