U.S. Forest Service Awards Cooperative Agreement to Strategic Biofuels to Develop a Renewable Fuel Standard Compliance Tracking System
The U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, awarded Strategic Biofuels a cooperative agreement under its Wood Innovations Program for the first phase of a multiphase project to develop a robust, auditable cloud-based system for demonstrating compliance of forestry feedstock with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Strategic Biofuels is the leader in developing negative carbon footprint renewable fuels production facilities.
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700 Rapides Students Learn About Forestry
Did you know there’s wood cellulose in your ice cream? Or that those pretty purple berries are on a shrub called American beautyberry? And no, the berries are not edible.
These are just a few of the things over 700 fifth-graders from around Rapides Parish learned at Forest Awareness Week held at Indian Creek Recreation Area this week.
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Critical Habitat Proposed for Louisiana Pinesnake in Louisiana, Texas
In response to litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to protect 209,520 acres of critical habitat for the Louisiana pinesnake in central Louisiana and east Texas.
The pinesnake has disappeared from most of its range as open, old-growth longleaf pine forests have been lost to logging and development.
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Forestry Wildlife Field Day Set for Choudrant
A free Forestry Wildlife Field Day is scheduled for October 14 at 232 Brooks Road near Choudrant to give forest landowners an opportunity to meet foresters, and learn about forest health, managing forestland for wildlife, harvesting, and more.
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West Louisiana Forestry Festival Coming To Leesville
The West Louisiana Forestry Festival will be kicking off on Oct. 5, 2022.
The festival will run through Oct. 9.
Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students. Kids 5 and under as well as law enforcement, first responders, and active military as well as their families will be admitted for free.
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McNeese Student Interns with Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center
Justin Kossman, a natural resource conservation management senior at McNeese State University, received real-world experience this summer through an internship with the Louisiana Ecological Forestry (LEAF) Center at Hodges Gardens in Florien that will make him first choice for employers after graduation.
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Louisiana Governor Visits Shreveport Recycled Paper Mill
America's fifth largest corrugated packaging company welcomed Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to their facility in northwest Louisiana Monday morning.
"We're honored to have Governor John Bel Edwards here with us today," said Anthony Pratt, Executive Chairman of Pratt Industries. "His economic leadership of Louisiana is characteristic of the reason that Pratt Industries has invested $250 million in the great state of Louisiana."
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Join mano-Y-ola at the 4th Annual Hispanic Farmers and Agricultural Professionals Symposium
On October 7th, 2022, mano-Y-ola will host the 4th Annual Hispanic Farmers and Agricultural Professionals Symposium with 2022’s focus, Climate-Smart Agriculture and Equity. These annual symposia seek to celebrate the Hispanic agricultural legacy in the United States and to provide a platform for Hispanics in agriculture to connect with other farmers, professionals, and opportunities, using the virtual platform developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach an even wider audience.
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Forestry Wildlife Field Day October 7 Near Haughton
A free Forestry Wildlife Field Day is scheduled for October 7, 2022, at Red Oak Lake near Haughton, Louisiana, to give forest landowners an opportunity to meet foresters, and learn about forest health, managing forestland for wildlife, harvesting, and more. This workshop will offer something for everyone, whether they own a few acres or a few hundred acres of trees.
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La. Treasury Department Announces Additional Logger Relief Grants
The Louisiana State Treasury Department has announced another round of one-time grants from the Louisiana Loggers Relief Grant Program.
The grants are an extension of the Main Street Recovery Program which aids industries impacted by the pandemic. $5 million has been set aside for the grants which will be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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WestRock Breaks Ground on $97 Million Jackson Parish Paper Mill Expansion and Modernization
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the start of construction Wednesday on a $97 million project to expand and modernize the WestRock Company paper mill, a major employer and driver of economic activity in Jackson Parish since it began operations in 1928.
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Louisiana’s Biofuels Market Entry Energizes Timber Industry
Gov. John Bel Edwards and other officials recently announced the construction of a $110 million sawmill by British Columbia-based Teal Jones. The groundbreaking highlighted the rapid expansion of lumber production in Louisiana in the past 14 months.
Between May 2021 and April of this year, six new projects were announced, adding up to nearly $700 million in new investment, NOLA.com reports. State economic development officials have estimated that the projects could add more than 2,000 jobs in total.
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Sawmills and Wood Pellet Plants Pop up Across Louisiana as Firms Bet on Timber Industry
Earlier this month, Gov. John Bel Edwards and a gaggle of other officials trekked to the tiny town of Plain Dealing in northern Bossier Parish, where they announced the construction of a new, $110 million sawmill by British Columbia-based Teal Jones.
The groundbreaking, where Edwards held a shovel and wore a cowboy hat as he stood under giant American and Canadian flags, highlighted the rapid expansion of lumber production in Louisiana in the past 14 months. Between May 2021 and April of this year, six new projects were announced, adding up to nearly $700 million in new investment.
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Teal Jones Group Begins Construction on $110 Million Bossier Parish Sawmill
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the start of construction Monday on a $110 million lumber production facility that will support the creation of nearly 500 new jobs in northwest Louisiana.
Teal Jones Group, an international forestry products company based in Canada, disclosed in December that it was considering Bossier Parish as the site of a new southern yellow pine lumber plant.
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Forestry 201 Workshop
A free Forestry 201 for Landowners Workshop will be offered on July 12, 2022, at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center, in Bossier City, Louisiana, to help landowners manage their forest land during dynamic times. This workshop is hosted by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Trailblazer RC&D.
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