Hydrilla plants line the banks of Spring Bayou in this photo from a few years ago. Due to the release of 62,500 grass carp into the recreation area, hydrilla is no longer a problem.
That pile of brush in the middle of the photo is a beaver lodge near Mansura -- home base for one of the nation’s largest species of rodents and a major drainage headache in Avoyelles Parish. Beavers dam up natural and man-made drainageways, flooding large areas. Parish officials are renewing their battle with beavers.
David Dupree (right) of Rayville accepts a plaque from Avoyelles Police Jury President Charles Jones for being the second racer through Avoyelles in the recent Tour de la Riviere Rouge kayak/ canoe race. Dupree was a solo paddler and also finished second in the 275-mile race.
Signs on Avoyelles Parish School Board 16th Section property -- like this one at Spring Bayou -- warn visitors they must have a user’s permit and vehicle decal or run the risk of being prosecuted for trespassing.
An Abbeville man thought he was leaving Avoyelles Parish with a trophy white-tailed deer. Instead, he received major hunting violation citations for hunting without a license, without deer tags and under revocation.
Glen Toupes Jr., 40, killed the 16-point, 265-pound buck while bowhunting on a Simmesport area hunting club’s property as a guest. The hunting club called the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries to help measure the deer for record purposes.