In partnership with Trust for Public Land, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) established a new 1,642.5-acre Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Washington Parish.
The Bogue Chitto WMA will become LDWF’s 53rd WMA and the only one in Washington Parish, located along the west bank of the Bogue Chitto south of the town of Franklinton and Bogue Chitto State Park.
Bogue Chitto WMA was created in part due to funding from the Louisiana Outdoor Forever Fund, a program established during the 2022 legislative session to provide funding for outdoor conservation projects in the State of Louisiana.
This WMA includes approximately 6.5 miles of riverfront along the Bogue Chitto, with extensive bottomland forests and rugged forested hills. The Bogue Chitto and it’s river bottoms provide habitat for many wildlife species, including popular game species like deer, wild turkey, and squirrel, as well as many non-game species. The bottom lands include a number of small lakes as well as the Bogue Chitto itself, which is popular for fishing, paddling and swimming.
LDWF anticipates that this site will be open to the public on July 1, 2025. Once open, the public will be able to enjoy hunting (available game species to be announced soon), fishing, hiking, paddling, wildlife viewing and photography.
