Public land and parish rules near Franklin, Louisiana

Franklin WMAs, refuges and forest land

Land whose boundary comes within 25 miles of Franklin heads the table, nearest edge first; anything farther follows by miles to its mapped centre.

For elbow room, Atchafalaya Delta WMA stands out near Franklin with 137,695 acres. Counted by manager: 3 LDWF-managed areas and 1 federal area. Attakapas Island WMA is LDWF ground: check in and out on the Self-Clearing Permit, by app or at the station, and carry a WMA Access Permit if you are 18 or older. Bayou Teche NWR adds federal conditions to the state seasons; pick up its permit or brochure where the refuge asks for one.

Nearest Franklin public areas, briefly

• Bayou Teche NWR: 11,682 acres; in St. Mary; open for waterfowl, dove, snipe, woodcock, rail
• Attakapas Island WMA: 27,962 acres; located in Iberia, St. Martin, St. Mary; seasons for deer, waterfowl, squirrel, rabbit (map PDF)
• Atchafalaya Delta WMA: 137,695 acres; in St. Mary; open for deer, waterfowl, feral hog, rabbit (WMA map)
• Elm Hall WMA: 2,839 acres; spans Assumption; seasons for deer, waterfowl, squirrel, rabbit (LDWF map)
• Indian Bayou Area (Corps): 28,500 acres; in St. Martin, St. Landry; hunted for deer, waterfowl, feral hog
• Mandalay NWR: 4,333 acres; spans Terrebonne; seasons for waterfowl, dove, snipe, rail, feral hog

Lands from LDWF area pages and the 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations, 50 CFR 32.37, USFS, NPS and Corps records (lands.json; each land page cites its own source); 2024 managed-hunt deer from the LDWF deer report 2024-25. Boundary miles from places.json, other miles to each mapped centre. WMA permits from the LDWF license list and WMA rules. Checked November 4, 2026.

Zones that apply to Franklin hunters

Private-land seasons in Louisiana follow Deer Areas, Turkey Areas, Bear Areas and bird zones; WMAs and federal land print their own schedules.

The LDWF map divides St. Mary Parish among Deer Areas (Area 7 about 72%, Area 9 about 21%, Area 5 about 7%); check which side of the line your lease or WMA lies on. (Deer Area 7, Deer Area 9, Deer Area 5; deer map.) Gun deer season in Deer Area 7 begins October 17, 2026 and archery closes January 15, 2027. Youths and honorably discharged veterans hunt private land in Deer Area 7 from September 26 to October 2. The area sets the season count: Area 7: 6 deer, no more than 3 antlered or 4 antlerless; Area 9: 6 deer, no more than 3 antlered or 4 antlerless; Area 5: 6 deer, no more than 3 antlered or 4 antlerless. St. Mary Parish is one of the 16 parishes closed to turkey hunting on private land. The new lottery bear season covers St. Mary Parish through Bear Area 1, December 5 to 20. (Bear Area 1) Duck season near Franklin uses the West and East zone calendar (West zone November 14 to December 6 and December 19 to January 24; East zone November 21 to December 6 and December 19 to January 31). Dove segments for St. Mary Parish: South: September 5-20, October 17-November 29, December 12-January 10. The new recreational alligator lottery placed St. Mary Parish in Zone F (400 opportunities).

Deer Areas, limits and dates from the 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations (LDWF map); GIS shares from the LDWF DeerManagementAreas layer; turkey from LDWF, bear from LDWF, ducks and doves from LDWF, CWD from LDWF, alligator zones from LDWF. Checked November 4, 2026.

Seasons open near Franklin

Bear permits, turkey areas, duck zones and dove zones each cover only part of Louisiana, so read the area column to see which rows apply in St. Mary Parish.

Waterfowl on WMAs and public lands ends at noon this season.

From the LDWF seasons and regulations and the 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations (Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries), checked November 4, 2026.

Franklin deer processors, taxidermists and shops

These are the businesses Franklin hunters lean on each season, by trade and then by distance. To give venison to food banks, G & M Processing (14 mi) is a Hunters for the Hungry processor. The taxidermist listing nearest Franklin is Dirty Bird Taxidermy, based in Franklin. Shells and blaze orange are sold at Scelfo's Sporting & Marine in Franklin, 0.5 mi away. Our 35-mile search from Franklin turns up 2 processors.

Venison cutting

Taxidermists

Hunting retailers

Guides

Processors from the LDWF deer processor and Hunters for the Hungry map layers, the Hunters for the Hungry list and Yellow Pages; preserves from the LDWF preserve list and Yellow Pages; taxidermists and shops from Yellow Pages and store locators (services.json). Listings without coordinates are placed at their town. Checked November 4, 2026; hours were not checked.

Events around Franklin

Counted inside about 30 miles on November 3, 2026: 2 dates still ahead, namely DU banquet and NWTF banquet.

Coming soon

Seen a flyer for something close by? Tell us

Asked about Franklin

Answers from places.json, lands.json, counties.json, services.json and the 2026-2027 Louisiana Hunting and WMA Regulations; tagging from LDWF, hunter orange from LDWF, baiting from LDWF, WMA permits from the LDWF license list, CWD from LDWF. Checked November 4, 2026.

Franklin trip checklist

Before leaving Franklin, confirm the parish and Deer Area of the land you picked and whether it needs a WMA permit, a refuge permit or a Corps permit.