LED FastStart is hosting an online résumé drop-off event to give job seekers the opportunity to learn more about growing companies in central and northwest Louisiana and apply for open positions.

The event will be held online on Wednesday, June 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. Job seekers can register in advance here, or anytime throughout the event. Attendees are asked to have a digital copy of their résumé available for the event.

A man was medevacked to a burn center in Galveston after the skid steer he was operating caught fire.

Ward 6 Fire responded to a call of a fire on Alston Road at 3:40 p.m. on Monday, May 20, where crews found a skid steer on fire in a pile of burning logs.

Louisiana Tech University students and the state’s forestry industry are set to benefit from the recent planting of a seed that’s sure to grow.

Representatives of the University’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences (CANS) and the US Department of AgricultureForest Service, Southern Research Station (USDA-FS-SRS) have signed a letter of intent regarding both a shared commitment to forest sector-based research and a collaboration between the two entities regarding the University’s on-the-horizon Forest Products Innovation Center.

Minding the Forest drops a new episode May 15 featuring Dr. Laura Sims, assistant professor at Louisiana Tech University, who is studying Brown Spot Needle Blight.

The podcast can be found on the Louisiana Forestry Association website, https://www.laforestry.com/podcast

A Central Louisiana lawmaker is pushing for legislation to combat the devastation of the state’s forest industry. This is due to last summer’s drought, which is still having effects across the Cenla region.

Pineville resident Mike Tudor said 14 pine trees are dead in his neighborhood strictly from the drought and heat.

Forest landowners know there are only two types of land: that which doesn’t have hogs; and that which soon will have hogs.

Feral hogs in the Southeast United States have been a problem for landowners for centuries. First brought to North America in the 1500s by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto, the free-range swine quickly populated southern forests. Exacerbating the problem in the early 20th century, more aggressive Eurasian wild boars were turned loose for hunters and despite “game-proof” caging, many escaped and mingled their bloodlines with other wild hogs, according to LSU AgCenter information.

Louisiana 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.

The 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.