PRESS RELEASE

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries News Update
LDWF and LSP Join Forces in Search and Rescue
BATON ROUGE (September 13, 2008) - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Louisiana State Police (LSP) joined forces Saturday morning with search and rescue (SAR) efforts in southwest Louisiana. LSP dispatched 10 troopers this morning from Troop D in Lake Charles to assist LDWF enforcement agents with water rescues.

Due to extensive flooding from Hurricane Ike in the southwestern portion of the state SAR operations became necessary. LDWF set up a SAR command center in Jennings, Friday, Sept. 12, where they began deploying agents Saturday morning shortly after the hurricane passed. State troopers joined LDWF enforcement agents in Jennings, Vinton and Moss Bluff where SAR was underway.

"Partnerships like this are vital to succ! essful search and rescue operations during disaster times like these. We welcome their assistance and appreciate their dedication to our state." commented LDWF Secretary Robert Barham. State police have committed their assistance to LDWF for the duration of the operations.

For the latest information on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.

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