Natalie Perkins has a smile that could bring warmth in the coldest of deer stands.

The 11-year-old youngster has an inner joy that she took time to share for a few minutes last weekend during the 60th Conservation Achievement Awards banquet, the annual get-together which mostly honors adults for their work in enhancing and preserving Louisiana’s outdoors.

Yet, among those 15 or so adult honorees, there was little doubt who was the star of this show.

“Oh, I’ve seen deer before, but nothing like that deer,” she said while sitting among the other award winners. “It was a thrill, a big thrill.”

Unfortunately, her male counterpart, 10-year-old Madden Dowden from Elm Grove, could not attend the dinner. Dowden was named the other recepient — the male winner — of the 2025 Youth Hunter of the Year award. Both hunters submitted a story of their hunt with a photo, submissions judged best among dozens of contest entries.

What made Perkins’ story special is she hunts from a wheelchair. She was born with spina bifida and said she has wished for some time to be able to accompany her parents on a hunt.

“I just like being outdoors,” she said.

Like most deer hunters, her story began before dawn, and while “a few deer showed up, I didn’t get a chance to shoot.

“When we went out that afternoon, we were sitting there and a doe came out,’’ she said. “And, the buck came out right after and started chasing the doe. My dad helped me line up the gun while it was resting on my stepmom’s arm and I pulled the trigger and hit him. He ran into the woods and my dad pulled him out for me.’’

“We were all over the moon excited for her. She doesn’t let her disability stop her,’’ her parents said.

Dowden’s story was about the same. His trophy came during an afternoon hunt, which began an exercise in trying to move a massive buck from field to camp, an effort that ran well after dark.

Both youngsters received plaques and gift cards from sponsors. The contest is a project of the LWF and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It’s open to resident hunters 15 and younger, who are required to submit a short story on the hunt and submit photos from the hunt.

Perkins and Dowden weren’t the only young folks honored during the banquet.

St. Joseph’s Academy was selected for its Coastal Roots Program and earned the Youth Conservation Achievement Award for its work in coastal and reforestation projects.

Boating ‘Lagniappe’

For the 15th year, Wildlife and Fisheries is offering a Boating Education Lagniappe Day at nine locations across Louisiana on Saturday.

The day-long course offers instruction in things like choosing a boat; boat classification, hulls, outboard engines and motors; legal and equipment requirements; navigation rules and charts; trailering; and information on personal watercraft like sailboats, canoes and jet skis.

There will be a test, and successfully completing the course will earn a state-authorized vessel operators certification.

There is no fee, and you need to register quickly because all nine sites have limited class sizes and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The registration website is wlf.louisiana.gov/page/boater-education. Click on “Find A Boating Education Course Near You.”

State law necessitates anyone born after Jan. 1, 1984, must complete an approved boating education course and carry proof of completion to operate a motorboat powered by an engine/motor rated more than 10 horsepower.

The locations include:

• Gonzales: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cabela’s, 2200 West Cabela’s Pky.;
• Ponchatoula: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Volunteer Fire Department, 610 East Pine St.;
• Lafayette: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Wildlife and Fisheries field office, 200 Dulles Rd.;
• Slidell: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., The Tammany Yacht Club, 1196 Harbor Dr.;
• Chauvin: 7 a.m.-1 p.m., Ward 7 Citizen’s Club, 5006 La. Hwy. 56;
• Lake Charles: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Wildlife and Fisheries field office, 1025 Tom Watson Rd.;
• Pineville: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement office, 1995 Shreveport Hwy.;
• Monroe: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Ludwig Marine, 7423 U.S. 165-North;
• Shreveport: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., The Boat Shop, 2410 Samford Ave.

Showing the money

Louisiana Operation Game Thief’s board handed out a total of $8,300 in awards to informants from 23 cases it reviewed involving the citing “of 40 subjects apprehended and 94 citations were written” involving deer, migratory game bird, and small game cases.

LOGT operates a 24-hour, toll-free hotline — (800) 442-2511 — for anyone with information about an alleged violation. Calls are kept confidential and informants anonymous.

To make a donation to LOGT, go to website; lawff.ejoinme.org/logt.