On March 26, 2024, Michael Whitaker of Mansfield, LA, was arrested for theft of timber following an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Forestry Enforcement Division.
In January 2024, LDAF Forestry Enforcement received a complaint of possible timber theft in DeSoto Parish.
Read MoreLate last year, the South experienced an extremely hot and sudden drought. When temperatures are high and moisture is low, trees become vulnerable quickly. Across southwest Mississippi and eastern Louisiana, approximately 12 million pine trees began dying. By early winter, 83,000 acres of pines had died. That estimate was derived with HiForm, an innovative tool developed by the Forest Service for high resolution forest mapping.
Read MoreRodney McKay knows a lot about starting fires.
Between 15 and 25 times a year, McKay heads into the woods with a drip torch, rakes and an array of other tools used to light fires, monitor their spread and manage the smoke they produce.
Read MoreFire has charred at least 100 acres of woods in Keithville’s Pecan Farms neighborhood.
The blaze behind a home in the 9600 block of Paula Street was reported about 2:20 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 25). It was moving very quickly through the woods due to very high winds, Caddo Fire District 4 reported.
Read MoreLSU AgCenter will hold its CenLa Forestry Forum from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 6 at the LSU AgCenter Evacuation Center near LSUA in Alexandria.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter and SW LA Forestry Association will be presenting programs to help forest landowners and professional foresters with managing their forests more profitably.
The cost is $25 per household comprised of a husband, wife, and dependent children. The cost also includes annual membership dues and entitles members to attend other workshops at no charge.
Read MoreOn January 26, 2024, investigators with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Forestry Enforcement Division and the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested James E. Doyle of Elizabeth, Louisiana, for trespassing and setting wildfires on company land in Rapides Parish.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Forestry Association has announced that it is celebrating Arbor Day by giving away 1,000 seedlings on Friday, Jan. 19.
Read MoreThe timber industry in Louisiana suffered major losses as a result of weeks-long wildfires and ongoing drought. Most of the damage comes from Vernon Parish and surrounding areas, where timber normally thrives.
Read MoreA forestry forum held in conjunction with Ag Expo will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 12, 2024, at the West Monroe Convention Center, 901 Ridge Ave., West Monroe.
Read MoreLouisiana’s abrupt transition this year from one of the wettest states to one of the driest has had crippling repercussions for its farms and forests.
The state’s agricultural and timber industries have suffered nearly $1.7 billion in losses from the long-running drought and recent bouts of record high temperatures, according to a new report from Louisiana State University researchers.
Read MoreI grew up hearing about tung trees. Particularly, I learned that much of the land in St. Tammany Parish on which Money Hill golf community and the Whippoorwill Grove subdivision now exist was once planted in tung trees.
The tung oil tree (Vernicia fordii, formerly Aleurites fordii) is native to parts of China and southeast Asia. Oil from tung seeds has been used in varnishes, paints, and other products.
Read MoreA free Timber Market Trends Workshop will be offered on December 12, 2023, at the Bossier Parish Library History Center in Bossier City, Louisiana. Featured topics include current market trends for timber, how to estimate the value of your timber, how to find the best place to sell your timber, how to navigate pitfalls of selling your timber, and how to leave the land healthier after the sale.
Read MoreWeyerhaeuser, one of the largest private owners of timberland, will spend 96 million dollars to modernize and decarbonize its Winn Parish lumber mill. Spokesperson Deano Orr says the upgrade will increase safety, productivity, and reliability.
“That’s going to involve installations of some new modernized equipment. Some of that new equipment will be new low-carbon process drying systems. We refer to those as CDK’s which is short for Continuours Dry Kilns.”
Read MoreLouisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain plans to ask the Legislature for $43 million to beef up firefighting equipment and personnel after the state suffered its worst wildfire season in a century, wiping out 62,000 acres of mostly forestland.
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