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Louisiana’s incoming Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary says he is immersed in transition, and acknowledges that the learning curve is significant as he prepares for his new job.
But the former congressman from Napoleonville says he is confident that he can provide the leadership needed to oversee an agency that has direct control over people who not only recreate, but make a living on Louisiana waters and forests.
Governor-elect John Bel Edwards chose Melancon to replace Robert Barham, who has headed up the department during both terms of outgoing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration.
“I have visited with Mr. Barham and am getting my mind around the department, learning the programs and the budget,” Melancon said in an interview last week. “LDWF is a good, steady, marching-ahead organization and I am not going in there to upset the applecart.”
Melancon, who worked closely with commercial fishermen when he was in Congress, said he is well aware of the sensitive balance that must be struck in the state between the needs of those who fish for a living and those who fish for sport, and that he intends to see that the resources are allocated fairly to each.
“I want to try to make the department as accessible and as balanced as I can between the commercial and the sports fishermen, and balanced toward all people,” Melancon said. “These resources belong to all the people of the state of Louisiana. The legacy I hope to leave will be that I was there to help and to make things better.”
Melancon, a lifelong Democrat, was a state representative from 1987 to 1993; Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005, he chose to challenge Sen. David Vitter R-La. but lost the election, and has been in private industry since then, most recently entering the real estate business.
As a congressman he communicated extensively with commercial fishermen and processors seeking restrictions on imported shrimp. He had also been a proponent of re-shaping how the federal government manages fisheries, including a bigger role for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rather than the Department of Commerce, a move many commercial fishermen said they favored.
Much of Melancon’s work was behind-the-scenes, and many involved in the fisheries are not familiar with him. Those who were actively involved with attempting changes in the laws do remember his efforts, however. Prior to serving in Congress, Melancon was closely involved with the sugar industry in Assumption Parish.
“A lot of people are saying they don’t know him, and want to know how someone from Napoleonville will run Wildlife and Fisheries,” said boat and dock owner Kimberly Chauvin, whose businesses include two bustling Dulac seafood operations. “I am hopeful, because he always seemed to try to help. We are like farmers and he knows farming. There is nothing wrong with having someone who can totally understand our stance when it comes to imports and the annihilation of our industry due to imports. Not only does he have a great understanding of that, but he has worked in DC and has a good understanding of that process. I think he will catch on quite quickly.”
Chauvin is among industry voices who have questioned the sensitivity of the current administration to the needs of commercial fishermen, and is hoping that Melancon will thoroughly evaluate changes he might wish to make in terms of high-level personnel.
Melancon said his experience with bringing people together over difficult problems will serve him and all facets of the worlds LDWF governs well, and is in keeping with what he sees as the new governor’s hopes for cooperation.
“He is about fairness and trying to make Louisiana a better place for everybody,” Melancon said of the governor-elect. “It’s about sitting down and compromising and finding common ground.” •
Former U.S. congressman Charlie Melancon is replacing Robert Barham as LDWF head.
