Golden Ranch Plantation

Louisiana has always been known as a sportsman's paradise. Golden Ranch Plantation, located about an hour southwest of the New Orleans airport, is exemplary of the state's claim to fame. It is a 50,000-acre, multiple enterprise operation that includes a large sugarcane program, soybean production, state of the art aquaculture, wild alligator egg sales and one of the most unique shooting preserves in the country. I have had the privilege and pleasure of working with Golden Ranch for the past several years and have gained great insight into the workings of such a complex program. I will share with you some of the management challenges as well as introduce you to some of the adventure opportunities.

Management of a project this size can get complex in a hurry. Vice President and General Manager, Lanny Ladet, keeps major enterprises compartmentalized to some extent. The farming operations are separate from the natural resource operations. Likewise, the aquaculture program is separate. Each division has its own manager and responsibilities, but the plantation is still run with a team spirit. No job gets left undone. Lanny, a licensed helicopter pilot, takes an aerial look from time to time to get an overview of the various land use activities.

Managing the wildlife habitat on Golden Ranch is unique in that the ranch supports such a wide range of habitat types and wildlife. The plantation is home to one of the largest, privately owned freshwater marshes in the country. It provides habitat for alligators, waterfowl, songbirds and a plethora of plant species. Needless to say, it is also home to some of the best duck hunting in the country.

The uplands are a bit of a misnomer. I learned after my first visit to Golden Ranch that a ridge in South Louisiana is about a foot higher than the water level in the swamp. Nevertheless, these ridges provide areas that can be managed for quail, turkey and deer. Some of the quail and deer habitat is inside a levee. Several strategically placed giant pumps can pull water off this land in a hurry after a tropical storm. While the water is high, quail don't mind spending a bit of time in the trees and brush.

Josh Albares, Manager of Natural Resources at Golden Ranch, has his hands full keeping all of the activities on track. The same crew that will help you during hunting season works the land during off season. Everybody knows how to handle farm as well as hunting equipment. The challenges are never ending and always include wilder weather swings than anywhere in the US. One of the main projects over the past several years has been to expand quail habitat. Much of the land had grown up in heavy brush and marginal hardwoods. Selective clearing and roller-chopping have expanded the habitat areas, which provides additional living quarters for quail as well as expanded areas for hunting.

Some of the clearing activities included grinding whole trees from top to bottom. The trees, having no commercial value, were ground on the spot. Residue left on the ground for one season was then easily roller-chopped, and the appropriate development of habitat followed. The habitat expansion program benefits deer as well as quail. The open areas that are wet natured are planted with joint vetch. This legume species provides excellent protein for growing deer. In addition, quail will use these areas when they are not wet to bug and eat seeds. Habitat management for multiple species is a give and take proposition. There are times when the quail fields are larger than that needed for deer management. On the other hand, there are times when the deer eat what has been planted for the quail. Having enough for everybody is the approach to multiple species management.

Golden Ranch is blessed with many wild forb species that are beneficial for quail, either as cover or food. Several ragweed species always germinate and grow in disturbed soil. Sesbania comes up like hair on a dog's back on new ground that has been taken out of woods. It is spread by flooding and waits for the soil disturbance to germinate. Although it provides good seed for quail or waterfowl, it is not a particularly good quail plant because it loses all of its leaves in the winter so you end up with what looks like a field full of cane poles.

Native soil fertility is generally good on Golden Ranch so, with adequate rainfall, plant growth can become excessive. At times, the only way to manage the vegetation is with rotary mowers or a roller-chopper. Timing of the vegetation management is critical. The hunting grounds need to look good and be productive during hunting season. Mow too late and nothing grows back and the holding cover becomes too sparse. When it rains so often that the mowing canÕt be done, the roller-chopper may have to be used to structure the shooting fields.

Many years ago, Golden Ranch Plantation had a huntable population of quail. As with many areas in the US, the numbers declined. Golden Ranch still supports a breeding population of quail, but to ensure commercial success, birds are released each year. The Covey Base Camp System is used for early release in October or November. Put and take birds are released during the hunting season. All birds readily adapt to the natural and planted holding cover. Predators are a perpetual problem in Southern Louisiana. Hundreds of nest predators, particularly raccoons, opossums and armadillos, are inhabitants of Golden Ranch. Coyotes and bobcats also abound. Destructive Furbearer Control, LLC is professionally addressing this problem. Their personnel work with the staff on the plantation to keep the predators in reasonable control. Hopefully, this will result in more birds reproducing on the ranch.

Duck habitat is a natural wonder in Southern Louisiana, particularly on Golden Ranch. Even so, management is necessary to ensure continued duck hunting prosperity. Management techniques are limited, but keeping the marsh grass from forming a complete mat helps. This is done with a winter burn after duck season. The natural potholes in the marsh have filled in with vegetation at an increasing rate because the nutria, an aquatic rodent, has been nearly eliminated from the marsh. In the past, the nutria was hunted because they were destroying too much vegetation in the marsh and on the levees. Now Golden Ranch managers are excited to see the nutria coming back. As always with biology, there is a balance. Sometimes we tip the scale too far in one direction and it takes some time before the balance is restored. A helicopter ride over the plantation gives a good view of active duck ponds.

Deer management is fairly straightforward. Give the deer space to live and nutrition to grow on, hunt the population properly and you will have deer that produce bragging rights. On Golden Ranch, all components are in place. There is plenty of land, cover and nutrition that results in numerous trophy bucks.

There are adventures and exciting experiences on Golden Ranch Plantation year-round, but now we'll take a look at those planned adventures during hunting season. You will be accompanied by one of the expert guides to ensure your success. In addition to Lanny and Josh, Deke Brown, Kyle Robicheaux and Steve Leblanc work incredible hours to keep customers satisfied and entertained. These fellows know how to work the marshes and bayous for alligators and later for ducks. They provide the dog handling for successful quail outings and take customers to deer stands for a chance at a trophy. In other words, when they are done with the habitat work, their teamwork continues with the exciting part of the business. Let's take a look at each venue in chronological order.

Alligators used to be on the endangered species list, but their comeback has been a great success story that has resulted in huntable populations. Golden Ranch monitors its populations very carefully and only allows hunting that can be sustained. The season is only open during the month of September.

Every time I have been on the ranch, I have seen several gators - some of which are big boys over 10 feet long. They have plenty to eat in the swamp and marsh. Although their diet is mostly fish, turtles and unsuspecting waterfowl, one of the big ones this year lunched on a 10-point buck that got too close to the bayou. Since these reptiles, survivors from the dinosaur era, can move fast, it can add a bit of adrenalin flow when you are trying to pull one into shooting range on a rope attached to a baited hook. The gator's objective is not to let you do that - thus the excitement.

Gators have been taken that weighed over 400 pounds and were nearly 12 feet long. Your guide knows how to keep things safe, but if your heart rate doesn't increase under these circumstances, you should probably volunteer as an astronaut. The gator meets his demise with either gun or bow. You may decide to keep some part or all of the gator as a trophy. The crew at the plantation is ready to handle the skinning and meat processing in their onsite USDA-inspected facility.