Black bear research to be reported

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the University of Tennessee will hold public meetings from Aug. 12 through 14 in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Ferriday and Tallulah.
The results of a recently completed University of Tennessee PhD project will be presented.
Meeting times and locations are as follows:
—10 a.m., Aug. 12, LDWF HQ LA Room, 2000 Quail Dr., Baton Rouge;
—6 p.m., Aug. 12, USFWS Building, 646 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette;
—6 p.m., Aug. 13, Concordia Community Center, 26356 Hwy 15, Ferriday;
—6 p.m., Aug. 14, Tallulah Community Center, 800 Beech St, Tallulah.
Doctoral candidate Jared Laufenberg will present his project results entitled “Population dynamics and genetic structure of the Louisiana black bears in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Louisiana.” Before delisting can occur, bear subpopulations in Tensas and Atchafalaya river basins have to be sustainable with a corridor to connect those two sustainable subpopulations. This research addresses those questions.
Following the presentation, there will be a question and answer period to allow for general discussion about bears in Louisiana and living with bears. For more information, contact Maria Davidson at 337-948-0255 or mdavidson@wlf.la.gov.
For more information, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or on Twitter @LDWF.