Jindal to speak at hunt

• By MARSHA SHULER
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 19, 2008 - Page: 8A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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There’s a “governor’s hunt” at the state-owned White Lake Preserve and Hunting Lodge that costs $5,000 per duck hunter.

State restrictions prevent the pristine Vermilion Parish development’s use for political fundraising, but Jindal is lending his “star power” to help raise money for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham said.

Jindal was to attend a dinner Tuesday night with about a dozen or so of the private donors participating in the hunt, Jindal communications director Melissa Sellers said in a written statement.

“The department asked the governor to speak at their dinner (Tuesday) and he looks forward to doing so,” she said.

The duck hunt begins at 6 a.m. today and the event concludes with an awards luncheon at 11:30 a.m., according to the invitation.

Barham said no one from the Governor’s Office or his agency will hunt.

The oil giant BP Amoco donated the White Lake development to the state in 2002 during Gov. Mike Foster’s administration. The 71,000 acres of freshwater marshland and resort complex land was valued at $40 million.

The Foster administration entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement with the oil giant and agreed to have a nonprofit board manage the preserve. Some of Foster’s friends ended up on the board.

The arrangement sparked legislative protests and a change in law to put it under the jurisdiction of a public body. At the time, Foster complained “they will make it a camp for politicians.”

Officials imposed restrictions on the development’s use aimed at stopping Foster’s prediction from becoming a reality.

Barham said corporate hunts are allowed on 10 weekends a year. Two-day overnight hunts cost $25,000, he said. There are also lotteries for others wanting to hunt, and a fee schedule has been developed for such things as meetings at the lodge, he said.

“It is important, critical that we raise the money to operate this place,” Barham said.

The foundation event will help raise money for a proposed nature interpretative center so people can get a “feel for the treasure” that is White Lake, Barham said.