St. John the Baptist Parish Hunting

St. John the Baptist Parish public land map

Mapped public ground totals near 46,321 acres, about 33.7% of the parish, with WMAs (LDWF) the biggest piece. These are GIS measures of map polygons, not official acreages; each area page gives the LDWF or federal figure.

St. John the Baptist Parish WMAs, refuges and forest land

Nearby areas for St. John the Baptist Parish hunters

• Bonnet Carre Spillway (Corps)9 miles, Corps of Engineers land, St. Charles Parish
• Joyce WMA18 miles, WMA, Tangipahoa Parish
• Salvador/Timken WMA26 miles, WMA, St. Charles Parish
• Salvador WMA26 miles, WMA unit, St. Charles Parish
• Lake Boeuf WMA28 miles, WMA, Lafourche Parish
• Timken WMA29 miles, WMA unit, St. Charles Parish

WMA hunting means two permits: the WMA Access Permit for anyone 18 and up ($20 or $5) and the free Self-Clearing Permit. On WMAs, bait is illegal, entry waits until 4 a.m., and duck hunting quits at noon.

Acres from the LDWF WMA layer, USFS ownership, USFWS refuge layer and LDWF federal layers; areas from the LDWF WMA, refuge and conservation area list and each area page; permits from pamphlet p. 6 and WMA rules. Checked November 4, 2026.

St. John the Baptist Parish special rules: CWD, bear, alligator

St. John the Baptist Parish CWD status

St. John the Baptist Parish is outside the CWD Management Zone on the June 2, 2026 map, so the zone feeding and carcass-export rules do not apply here. Carcass imports from outside Louisiana are restricted to meat, clean quarters, antlers, cleaned skulls, capes and mounts. St. John the Baptist Parish has no CWD detection on record; the 55 Louisiana cases come from four other parishes.

St. John the Baptist Parish bear hunting rules

The black bear lottery hunt runs December 5 to 20, 2026 in Bear Area 1 (part) and Bear Area 7 (part), which takes in St. John the Baptist Parish; Area 1: 8 permits (5 landowner, 3 general) and Area 7: 2 general permits. Part of the parish sits in a different Bear Area; LDWF describes the line by roads and rivers. Winners need the $25 Bear License and the mandatory training session; the 2026 application window (July 28-August 28) cost $50. No dogs, no cubs, no females with cubs: bear hunters still-hunt, with bait allowed from November 1.

Alligator hunting in St. John the Baptist Parish

St. John the Baptist Parish is in Recreational Alligator Zone H, one of eight zones in the new resident lottery, with 400 hunter opportunities; the zone also covers St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Charles. Each drawn resident may take two alligators in the zone during October 1 to 31, 2026, reporting within 72 hours. The commercial alligator season (East and West zones) is a different program, closing December 31.

CWD from the June 2, 2026 CWD map, pamphlet p. 12 and the LDWF CWD page; bear from the LDWF black bear lottery page and lottery hunts page; alligator from the LDWF recreational alligator page. Checked November 4, 2026.

St. John the Baptist Parish LDWF contacts, towns and services

Enforcement agents in St. John the Baptist Parish answer to Region 8, run from New Orleans by Captain Tim Fox. The closest LDWF door is Hammond Field Office in Hammond, near 24 straight-line miles away.

Town pages in St. John the Baptist Parish

Smaller places in St. John the Baptist Parish:

• Garyville
• Laplace
• Pleasure Bend
• Reserve
• Wallace

Nothing in our services list sits inside St. John the Baptist Parish; neighbours supply the entries below.

Deer processing, St. John the Baptist Parish area

Mount makers, St. John the Baptist Parish area

Gear stores, St. John the Baptist Parish area

Offices from the LDWF Contact Us page and LDWF local law enforcement page; towns and places from the 2024 Census gazetteer and Census population estimates; services from LDWF processor layers, Hunters for the Hungry, store locators and Yellow Pages listings. Checked November 4, 2026.

St. John the Baptist Parish legal shooting light

On wildlife management areas and other public land, waterfowl hunting ends at noon this season (Atchafalaya Delta and Pass-a-Loutre excepted).

Clock time: Central Daylight Time until Nov. 1, 2026 and from March 14, 2027.

Hours rules from the 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations and La. R.S. 56:116.1; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Central Time); checked November 4, 2026. Legal hours for every parish.

Parishes near St. John the Baptist Parish

The four closest parish pages by distance between parish centres, plus three statewide guides.

St. John the Baptist Parish closing notes

LDWF and the Commission can change dates after the pamphlet prints, so recheck the LDWF season page before a St. John the Baptist Parish hunt.

Sources: 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting & WMA Regulations, LDWF hunting, Census and the sources in each section. Checked November 4, 2026.