The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it is issuing more than $232 million to support public schools, roads and other municipal services through the agency’s Secure Rural Schools program. The program was reauthorized for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Fiscal year 2023 funds will be paid to 745 eligible counties in 41 states and Puerto Rico.
Read MoreMartco, LLC, parent company for timber sourcing and manufacturing company RoyOMartin, announced it will invest more than $30 million to install technologically advanced production equipment at its Allen Parish plant that produces oriented strand board (OSB) for the housing industry.
Read MoreLouisiana Logging Council (LLC) members can now participate in a new vendor program that will offer discounts to logging companies for goods and services.
Companies that offer goods and services, such as tires, repairs or parts, for example, wanting to participate in the program are required to have an active membership in LLC. Logging companies wanting to receive discounts must show proof of membership in the LLC.
Read MoreThe summer of 2023 was the hottest, driest summer in memory. Along with the hot dry weather came wildfires. Through the end of October, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Office of Forestry responded to more than 1,300 wildfires burning almost 58,000 acres statewide.
Forests cover almost 50 percent of Louisiana, with more than one-third being pine dominated. Historically, the piney woods would burn periodically due to the accumulation of highly flammable needles and frequent lightning strikes.
Read MoreOn 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.
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