HCR86 • 2026

WILDLIFE/HABITAT: Expresses legislative support for a request by Senator John N. Kennedy to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a study addressing the impact of land use changes and habitat loss on migratory waterfowl behavior

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Jeremy LaCombe
Last action: 2026-05-26
Official status: Signed by the Speaker
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details about the study's scope regarding economic outcomes or its impact on people relying on hunting.

Support for Study on Migratory Waterfowl

This resolution supports a request by Senator John N. Kennedy to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to study how changes in land use and habitat loss affect migratory waterfowl.

What This Bill Does

Expresses support for a USFWS study on migratory waterfowl behavior.

Who It Names or Affects

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Migratory waterfowl populations

Terms To Know

Mississippi Flyway: A major route used by birds, especially waterfowl, for migration between breeding and wintering grounds.
Habitat loss: The destruction or degradation of natural areas where plants and animals live.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not provide funding for the study.
Does not specify when the study will be completed.

Bill History

2026-05-26 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-26 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-26 S
Read by title and concurred in by a vote of 32 yeas and 0 nays. Ordered returned to the House.
2026-05-26 S
Rules suspended.
2026-05-21 S
Rules suspended. Reported favorably.
2026-05-06 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
2026-05-05 S
Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-05-05 H
Read by title, roll called on final consideration, yeas 99, nays 0. The resolution was adopted and ordered to the Senate.
2026-05-05 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-05-05 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-04-29 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/05/2026.
2026-04-28 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-04-27 H
Read by title, substitute title adopted, lies over in the same order of business, substitute for HCR No. 15 reported by the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment (16-0).

Official Summary Text

WILDLIFE/HABITAT: Expresses legislative support for a request by Senator John N. Kennedy to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a study addressing the impact of land use changes and habitat loss on migratory waterfowl behavior

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 86 (Substitute for House Concurrent
Resolution No. 15 by Representative LaCombe)
BY REPRESENTATIVES LACOMBE, BUTLER, COATES, DEWITT, ECHOLS,
FIRMENT, MARTINEZ, AND SAWYER AND SENATORS BOUDREAUX,
CARTER, CATHEY, EDMONDS, HENRY, JENKINS, LAMBERT, MIGUEZ,
MIZELL, MYERS, PRESSLY, AND PRICE
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To express legislative support for a request by Senator John N. Kennedy of Louisiana to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to initiate a formal study to
evaluate how land use changes and habitat loss affect migratory waterfowl
productivity and breeding population distribution, behavior, wintering distributions,
and associated economic outcomes in the Mississippi Flyway.
WHEREAS, Senator John N. Kennedy of Louisiana wrote a letter to the USFWS
concerning the recent decline in annual waterfowl migration to Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, as a result of continental wetland loss and changes to land use and
policy, substantial landscape alteration has occurred in areas important to Mississippi
Flyway waterfowl hunters; and
WHEREAS, data from the USFWS shows that the Louisiana wintering mallard
population declined from approximately eight hundred thousand in 1999, to three hundred
thousand in 2018, representing a three and two-tenths of a percent average annual decline
over those years, the largest decline in mallards among the fourteen states in the Mississippi
Flyway; and
WHEREAS, this same data also shows that states to the north, from Iowa to
Mississippi, have observed average annual increases in their mallard populations of roughly
eleven percent; and
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HCR NO. 86 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, the annual mallard harvest in Louisiana declined by approximately
ninety-five percent between 1999 and 2021, marking the most significant decline among
states within the Mississippi Flyway; and
WHEREAS, fewer waterfowl migrating south will likely accelerate this decline in
harvest, leading to additional losses in conservation revenues and other funding sources that
support wildlife habitat programs; and
WHEREAS, in anticipation of improving habitat in the breeding grounds and in
Louisiana to increase the numbers of wintering waterfowl in Louisiana, Senator John N.
Kennedy has requested that the USFWS conduct a study examining migratory waterfowl
behavior, their habitats, winter distribution patterns, and related economic effects within the
Mississippi Flyway.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express its support for the request by Senator John N. Kennedy to the USFWS to conduct
a study to evaluate variables that contribute to the observed changes in migratory waterfowl
behavior, winter distributions, continental populations, and related economic outcomes in
the Mississippi Flyway.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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