LAFOURCHE PARISH GAME AND FISH COMMISSION

Camp Leases

The Lafourche Parish Game and Fish Commission (Commission) has authority to issue permits for camp leases within the Lake Field/Lake Long Game and Fish Preserve (Preserve). Approximately 115 camp leases have been granted along Bayou Folse (Camp Canal), Bayou Dumar, and Nolan Toups Canal. No camp leases are granted in or around Lake Long.

Do not buy or sell a camp without prior approval by the Commission. The Commission requires that an orderly process for a transfer of an existing camp lease with an existing camp and/or significant physical improvements such as bulkheads, docks, spoil deposition, etc. be followed. A process checklist, transfer forms, and a generic camp lease document may be downloaded HERE. A summary of instructions follows.

First, initial approval from the Commission will be granted to the buyer after certain conditions are completed as documented on the Lease Checklist Form are completed:
  1. Approval from the Lafourche Parish Game and Fish Commission that the lease site complies with all terms and conditions of the lease document. Compliance may be determined through: a field inspection or personal knowledge by a Commission member; or the buyer or seller providing suitable images showing entry pipe of the sewer containment tank, camp and other physical structures, lot from four directions, docks and bulkheads, and bank(s) of the lot where it meets the water.
  2. The new lease holder is aware of the annual lease rate of $440 for 100-foot frontage or less plus $0.50 per foot for that frontage greater than 100 feet, which was approved by the Commission.
  3. The new lease holder: has read the camp lease document (attached); will comply with all terms and conditions of the lease document; accept the property and physical improvements on the lease site in its present condition; assume all liabilities and responsibility for maintaining property and physical improvements in a clean and presentable manner; and, comply with applicable federal, state, or local regulations.
  4. The Lease Checklist Form has been signed.
After an initial lease transfer request approval from the Commission, the following must be submitted to the Commission for final approval and completion of paperwork to transfer the camp lease and file with the Parish Clerk of Court:
  1. Original signed Lease Checklist Form.
  2. Original signed Lease Assignment Form.
  3. Original notarized copy of the bill of sale or act of donation.
  4. Original notarized copy of the Camp Lease Document.
  5. A check of $105 payable to the Lafourche Parish Game and Fish Commission for the Clerk of Court filing fee.
After the paper work is filed, the Commission will mail a copy of the recorded lease to the lease holder.

There has been a moratorium on new camp lots for numerous years. In addition, the Commission was later advised by attorneys from the Office of State Lands that all new leases without a camp is subjected to the public bid process. The Commission has discussed the possibility of new camp lots and has approved the PROCESS by which new camp leases would be approved if the Commission elects to open new camp lots.

State legislation passed during the 2012 legislative session expanded the coastal zone in Lafourche Parish to include the Lake Fields/Lake Long Preserve. Certain construction activities in the coastal zone will require a state coastal use permit (CUP). A camp per se does not require a CUP; however, a CUP is required if fill or spoil materials are placed on the lot, a hole is dug for the mandated septic system, or a bulkhead, boat house, or dock is constructed. If you have already constructed your camp, a CUP will still be required if you build or repair a bulkhead, dock, or boat house, place fill on your lot, or dig a hole for a septic system.

If you have any questions about whether your desired project would require a CUP, please contact the Lafourche Parish Coastal Zone Management office at (985)632-4666 or email at [czm@lafourchegov.org] or the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources at 800-342-4019 or 225- 342-7519. The state will also be opening an outreach office in Thibodaux one day a week to meet with residents in person. That office will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays at 1440 Tiger Drive, Suite B. You may also obtain information from the Parish web site at the coastal zone management page or the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources web site. Lease holders who are exempt from state coastal use permits may still have to apply for federal permits with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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