Dewey W. Wills Wildlife Management Area
Dewey W. Wills Wildlife Management Area, also just called Dewey Wills Wildlife Management Area and formally known as the Saline Wildlife Management area, is a 63,984-acre (25,893 ha) tract of protected area located in LaSalle Parish, Catahoula Parish, and Rapides parish, in Central Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) owns 63,901 acres, the LaSalle Parish School Board owns 1530 acres, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE) owns 265 acres, managed by the LDWF.
| Dewey W. Wills Wildlife Management Area | |
|---|---|
| Dewey Wills Wildlife Management Area | |
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
Location within Louisiana | |
| Location | LaSalle Parish, Catahoula Parish, and Rapides parish Louisiana |
| Coordinates | 31°26′16″N 92°04′10″W |
| Area | 63,984 acres (258.93 km2) |
| Governing body | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LaSalle Parish School Board, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE) |
A 2006 class-action lawsuit (Crooks v. State) resulted in a 2017 court decision and reclassification of Catahoula Lake as being a seasonally flooded river and not a lake. The end result is that a change in the definition changes the ownership of the land involved between the low water mark and high water mark around the waterway that would also change the boundaries of the WMA affecting 30,000 acres.