By James T. Knight II and Daryl James
Louisiana Record
Two words are usually enough to keep uninvited visitors off private property: “No trespassing.” But game wardens ignore the signs that mark the perimeter of Tom Manuel’s timberland in East Felicia Parish, Louisiana.
Manuel was shocked the first time he found a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries official on his land without a warrant. The intruder had no consent, no complaint, no emergency, and no reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. Yet he entered the private property anyway in December 2023, just to look for evidence of game and fish violations.