In order to peer into the crystal ball to assess the outlook of the upcoming season around the state, it helps to see what happened in the deer woods last season. LeBlanc noted that some really good deer were harvested around the state, with one region in particular producing trophy deer.

"Most of the trophy bucks came from the areas that have traditionally produced quality deer," LeBlanc said. "The best area continues to be what we call the 'Fertile Crescent', the area along the Mississippi River where the Red River converges with the Mississippi. This has long been a highly productive area because of the fertility of the soils that grow more nutritious and rich deer foods.

"You'll see an occasional trophy buck come out of other regions of the state but most of the better ones continue to come from private lands and our management areas found within this region."

Looking at a map of the area, several state and federal public hunting areas are located here. In addition to the Lake Ophelia and Tensas National Wildlife Refuges, there are state public areas, including Big Lake, Three Rivers and Red River wildlife management areas.

The state agency is responding the improving situations around the state with at least two wildlife management areas affected for the coming season.

"We're in the final stages of changing hunting regulations on two wildlife management areas," said LeBlanc. "On Jackson-Bienville management area, we're planning to offer either-sex hunting throughout the season to correspond with the season outside the management area. In the past, we have had several days of either sex hunting followed by a bucks-only season. We have determined that the deer population is in good condition here, and as a result, we are proposing changing regulations here to reflect this situation.

"We are proposing the same regulations -- antlerless deer hunting throughout the season -- on Ben's Creek Wildlife Management Area as well, and for the same reasons." (Hunters should check the LDWF Web site, www.wlf.state.la. us, to insure that these proposals are in effect for the 2007-08 deer hunting seasons at these two areas.)

In order to continue to assess the deer situation around the state, wildlife personnel are in the process of a deer telemetry study in some portions of the state. "We are doing a telemetry study in West Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes," said LeBlanc, "where we catch and radio-collar deer to be released and studied. We use bait sites and set a drop net over the site.

"Once we have deer under the net, it is quickly dropped and then the fun begins. We wrap the deer in the nets and slip a blindfold over their heads to calm them a bit. They are weighed and aged and a radio collar is attached before releasing them at the same site.

"We're doing the same study down in the marsh around Pass-à-Loutre," he continued, "but we use a different method of capturing the deer. We go out at night in air boats (and) run the deer out into the water, where they're easier to capture. We'll be able to learn a lot from the data these radio-collared deer will furnish.

"We will be implementing another program this fall where we'll use volunteers to give us a monthly report during the deer season. We'll be looking for hunters from all around the state who are in the field a lot and will ask them to keep a log book of deer sightings, harvest, etc. and to turn this in to us at the end of the season.

"Another possibility to assess the deer situation is our checking with deer processing plants. We feel we can learn a lot from their records as to when deer are brought in from which parishes," he added.

By the time the 2007-08 deer season rolls around, the state's hunters will be fervently hoping that another devastating hurricane has not kicked the state in the teeth as happened two years ago.

Hunters will also be preparing themselves mentally to take part in something state hunters haven't contended with in many year, that of tagging the deer they take and calling in each success.

One thing Louisiana's deer hunters can feel good about is the extent that the state's overseers of our deer -- professionals such as Emile LeBlanc -- are working to insure that neither hurricane nor drought can keep Louisiana from being one of the South's best deer hunting destinations.