A wrongful arrest lawsuit filed in 8th Judicial District Court in Winnfield names as defendants a former Louisiana Wildlife Commission chairman and a Department of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agent but the litigation is only the latest in an ongoing dispute whose roots go far deeper into the lush pine forests of Winn, Caldwell and LaSalle parishes.
Wyndel Earl Gough (pronounced “Goff”) and Gary L. Hatten filed the lawsuit on Jan. 10, naming William “Bill” Busbice of Broussard, former chairman of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission during the administration of former Gov. Mike Foster, as one of the defendants.
Also named were Terry Carr, identified as an overseer or manager of Busbice’s Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) land, and wildlife agent Rusty Perry after Gough and Hatten were arrested by Perry in December of 2010 for illegally hunting deer on DMAP land without Busbice’s permission.
It was not until April of 2012, however, that a bill of information was issued by the district attorney charging the two with one count each. On Oct. 24, those charges were formally dismissed by the district attorney’s office.
Both Gough and Hatten deny ever having hunted on DMAP property.
Busbice began purchasing some 55,000 acres in the three parishes, mostly in Winn, after Louisiana-Pacific shut down its operations at Urania in 2002. Louisiana-Pacific initially sold the forest land to Barrs & Glawson Investments of Atlanta, GA, to Roy O. Martin Lumber Co. and to Martin-Urania Corp. for $74 million. Barrs & Glawson re-sold tracts totaling 50,383 acres in Winn, 6,068 acres in LaSalle and 4,800 in Caldwell to Six-C Properties, headed by Busbice.
Since purchasing the land, Busbice has erected eight-foot fencing around the property and constructed a hunting lodge on the land that caters to high rollers who don’t mind ponying up a few thousand dollars for the privilege to hunt deer.
Six-C subsequently donated 1,500 acres of the land to Make A Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Additional property owners in the area, including other members of the Gough family, claim that Busbice’s fencing in 55,000 acres in the three parishes, mostly in Winn, has deprived them of their hunting rights.
One of those, Michael Atkins, sued Busbice and his company, Six-C Properties, after Busbice erected a fence completely surrounding 10 acres of land owned by Atkins. His lawsuit, which he won at the trial court level but which was overturned in part on appeal, contended that the fence not only prevented him from hunting but also blocked access to his property.
The latest lawsuit, however, goes back more than a decade and involves principals other than Busbice and the two plaintiffs.
Names that have surfaced in what has become a conspiracy-laden story include imprisoned former Winn Parish Tax Assessor A.D. “Bodie” Little, former Gov. Mike Foster and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Landowners, including the Goughs, maintain that Foster hosted Cheney on a hunting trip in 2002 and shortly afterwards a federal grant came through Foster’s administration which was used to purchase the land which eventually came under the control of Busbice and Six-C.
Efforts by LouisianaVoice to confirm that allegation have been unsuccessful, though an entry of more than $87.86 million was included on page 29 in Foster’s fiscal year 2003-2004 executive budget under the column heading of Federal Funds.
Marty Milner, fiscal officer for the Office of Facility Planning and Control, said in a 2008 email to investigator Art Walker that he had found the $87.86 million but some projects were funded through the Department of the Military and the Department of Transportation and Development but his office did not handle the accounting for those departments. Accordingly, he said, he was unable to determine the disposition of the money.
Michael Gough, one of the landowners in the area, likened the Six-C hunting camp to the state’s arrangement with the White Lake Preservation in Vermilion Parish. In that case, BP donated the 71,000-acre preserve to the state but retained mineral rights on the property—and received millions of dollars in tax breaks.
Foster, governor at the time, negotiated the deal with BP and subsequently appointed a board comprised of private citizens to manage the property.
Another controversy surrounding the Six-C property arose in 2008 when a group of Winn Parish taxpayers filed suit against then-assessor Bodie, claiming that the increase in their taxes was a direct result of their opposition to Bodie’s election as sheriff.
Bodie was sentenced to a 13-year federal prison term last August for drug possession with intent to distribute.
An Alexandria Town Talk investigation revealed that several of Bodie’s friends benefitted from under-assessments. Among those was Six-C, which was the beneficiary of an assessment that was $351,800 low, according to one local resident.
Under the $20 per acre forestland value, Six-C was billed $98,601 on its Winn Parish properties, then consisting of 31,600 acres. Winn Parish resident Grady McFarland, however, said Six-C should have paid taxes based on an $88.90 per acre value, or $450,410.
Almost as an afterthought to the whole affair, Glenn Austin, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, accompanied Michael Gough on a tour of several locations around the boundary of Six-C property to inspect where “flood flaps,” made from old conveyor belts, were stretched across the bottom of the fence where it crossed streams and creeks in the area.
The flaps, installed to prevent wildlife from escaping, impeded the water flow, causing flooding and erosion. “There was sediment deposited within the channel banks at almost every location,” Austin said. “This increase in sediment load and increased turbidity in the water channels could be degrading the water quality” within the streams, he added.
Austin told Gough that if the area was deemed to be a wetland, then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would have regulatory authority over the area.
Does Grisham know about this? Great stuff as always from LV!
GREAT job, Tom. I know Mr. Art and Mr. Levi; and, have sent them papers on some you guys claims…
I can tell you it is no easy task. The “politicos” and the “influential” few want to rule our lives and properties…I have been working on the Fox8Live.com “Dirty Deeds” shows with Mr. Zurick. I did not have the time to devote to Mr. Art and Mr. Levi too much on this subject; however, i wish you the very BEST!
Would love to know where you got some of your information! Also…just my opinion, but you left out some MAJOR players.
MAJOR players are always left-out so they can squrim and use more T-paper…Very “HARD” work always pays-off. Dosen’t happen overnight…BLESSINGS in HIM
!
Mr. Tom thank you for putting this out. I would like to add some information for your readers. The property that is mentioned in this article is a family piece of property located in the rural areas of Winn Parish. My great grandfather purchased the land in the early 1900s. My great grandfather had 7 sons who were in WW II at one time. I have other relatives that spent most of their childhood on the property who went on to serve in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. I am a disabled veteran from the Desert Storm/Desert Shield Era. My brother Wyndell, who was falsly arrested, served a year in Korea on the 38th parallel dureing the early 1980s when tensions between North and South Korea were at very high threat levels and exchange of fire was a daily affair. Mr Lewis Taylor, who is part of our family, fought in both WW II and the Korean War and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor while in combat. I believe that my grandfather and my uncles roll over in there graves if they knew what was happening in a parish they dearly loved and called home. Again Thanks
Mike:
Very well said…Our LORD does not sleep and says; “bring dark evil to the “LIGHT”…We are both doing that to the very best of our abilities. The “TRUTH” will set us all free…Some may not want to hear the truth, but guess what it is going to happen! Do NOT let a few disrupte your righteous cause. There are always a few bad apples around. I pray that everyone grabs hold of the “LIGHT” (JESUS) and does the right thing; or, they will be lost forever…Everyone’s “Free Will” belongs to them; however, what you chose to do with it always reflects your natural and spiritual journey forever…The “white” hat of truth will always win over the “black” hat of wrongdoings…BLESSINGS!
Mike:
Very well said…Our LORD does not sleep and says; “bring dark evil to the “LIGHT”…We are both doing that to the very best of our abilities. The “TRUTH” will set us all free…Some may not want to hear the truth, but guess what it is going to happen! Do NOT let a few disrupte your righteous cause. There are always a few bad apples around. I pray that everyone grabs hold of the “LIGHT” (JESUS) and does the right thing; or, they will be lost forever…Everyones “Free Will” belongs to them; however, what you chose to do with it always reflects your natural and spiritual journey forever…The “white” hat of truth will always win over the “black” hat of wrongdoings…BLESSINGS! (Sorry I do not know how “title” got on my reply) I am Keith.
I am Toni Davis, oldest granddaughter of William Curtis Hatten and Alice Newsom Hatten–daughter to their only child, Carolyn Rose Hatten Gough of Grayson, La. When this all first starting being “chatted about,” my thoughts were that “this is never going to happen out here in our neck of the woods.” The next visit to my grandparents old home place left me in tears and disbelief–I guess it is true the little man always loses. Those were the thoughts that entered my mind when I saw this huge black fence enclosing our property along with viewing a few of the black mats placed over the creeks and branches around the area. I thought surely someone will fight this and win. I did hear that one particular judge ordered the fence removed for one plaintiff that dared go up against this group; however, I learned that it was overturned in a higher court. All I can remember in contrast to what is now being done to all of this acreage is the memories of playing in my Papaw’s creek, trying to catch the giant eel; climbing the big tree with the huge extending brach that allowed us to pretend to be riding a horse; Sunday dinners cooked by my grandmother, Alice; nights spent out there, deep in the woods, listening to the crickets; all their cows and pigs and chickens and ducks and geese–I especially remember the “banty rooster” that used to chase us around the yard because he thought he owned the yard and all the hens. Most of all, I remember a common old couple who were “salt of the earth” type of people–they had a good name for good reasons. They were simply good, God-fearing people. I guess what is so very sad about the whole thing is that I watched them hold on to their land when they were at an age where they, in all reality should have sold it and moved out to live with my Mom and Dad–they would have enjoyed their days with them. However, my Papaw Hatten took my little brothers on a walk through the woods one day. Having gone deep enough into the woods, he told them, “Look around you; I have held onto this all for you kids. Right now you might not think so, but there is gonna be a time soon when there’s not gonna be anywhere for a common man to hunt–that’s why we have stayed and held onto this for so long.” I can picture him saying that to them with those serious, loving, blue eyes. Perhaps this is a “girlie” story as it deals with this matter; however, I dare say there are many more such stories that would come out of the mouths of many generational landowners who now look out across their “inheritance” and get to eye an ugly and daring “High Black Fence” If this fence could speak, I believe it would say, “STAY OUT all who bought the surrounding acres with blood, sweat and tears; those whose ancestors have lived and hunted these parts for probably over a century; you little men and women who can’t afford to fight for your heritage……YES, STAY OUT. You are not welcome anymore.”
I like Mrs. hatten have watched this fence tear my hunting rights, and love for the outdoors away from me and my family. At first after Six-C properties acquired the land it did not effect us too bad, later they erected the fence totally surrounding my families land. I can not understand why a man that has the amount of land and I am speaking of (Bill Busbice) is so worried about another hunter taking a deer that is legal. I grew up in Beech Creek and always had the rights to go where I pleased and hunted where I wanted. I understand I can’t do that anymore but now I can’t even hunt on my own land. On top of all of this he claims to be an avid outdoorsman but if you notice his hunting show never shows his true love, hunting with dogs. While I have hunted like this when I was younger the deer had a chance at that time. Now he has the fences to corner the deer, logging roads to cut them off everywhere and I have witnessed myself driving up on the man shooting from a public road which is illegal. He has people arrested for trespassing but uses his dogs to run through our properties to shoot the deer on the other side . Greed is the best way to describe the man! I regret to say I worked for him for a short time and saw and learned things about the man I do not care for.
And now the Busbice Boys is a reality show. Lets hope it ends better than Sons of Guns.
Anyone who watches this show should make note of the sponsors and boycott them all. I do not intend to watch the show more than one time with the only purpose in watching will be noting the sponsors.
[…] The Busbice clan are a polarizing bunch. People either seem to love them or hate them and they’ve had their share of controversy. Since purchasing the 55,000 acre tract of land the A&E show revolves around, they’ve erected an 8 foot fence that has at least one small landowner locked out of their own land. Local resident Michael Atkins even filed a lawsuit against Busbice and his holding company Six C Properties for fencing a 10 acre plot he owns. Two others filed a lawsuit for false arrest after they were arrested for allegedly trespassing. There’s also rumblings about the property value being under assessed on purpose to lower the property tax burden and some semi shady dealings about getting government money to repave the road to the property while more deserving road repairs are put on the back burner. The following links explain things a little more in depth. LINK LINK […]
First off did i read that right did they high fence the whole place??
I thought that was illegal far as state and federal game laws because it cut off game migration.
[…] https://louisianavoice.com/2013/01/15…-bodie-little/ I believe this is it. Yeah, I really do not like these guys. __________________ Genesis 27 verse 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; […]
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
I don’t believe I can do that from my end. I think you’ll have to unsubscribe.