February 1, 2017 — Jack Montoucet has been fighting fires for a long time, first when he was chief of the Lafayette Fire Department, then operating a alligator farm, and, for the past nine years, serving in Louisiana’s House of Representatives.
Now the 69-year-old Marine Corps veteran — and if you count back those years you come to know he spent some time in the Far East — then you know he’s been under fire for virtually all his adult life.
Why then, when asked by Gov. John Bel Edwards to step down from the State House into a firestorm as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, did Moutoucet agree to take that job?
In a few words, Moutoucet said he’s interested in Louisiana’s outdoors resources. He said that was made more a priority after working closely with the LDWF over the years with what’s become a blueprint for the successful recovery of what was an endangered species, the Louisiana alligator.