Extreme drought and pine beetle outbreaks are of increasing concern for forests in the south to the extent that USDA approved financial and technical assistance to help owners restore forests on non-industrial private forestlands in Mississippi and Louisiana. Behind much of the information about the drought and the trees adversely affected are Forest Service scientists who have developed tools that allow users to see real-time effects of the drought.
Read MoreThis summer, the Conservation Practice Adoption Motivations Survey (CPAMS), a joint project between USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will be mailed to 43,000 forest and grazing landowners and managers across the nation. The CPAMS gathers information to understand why people choose to use different conservation practices, and whether they continue to use practices over time. The data will help improve voluntary conservation programs. NASS will mail an invitation to respond early online at agcounts.usda.gov starting June 24. NASS will mail questionnaires on July 8 with the option for survey recipients to respond online, by mail, or fax. If NASS does not receive completed questionnaires by July 28, they may reach out to schedule interviews. A data highlights publication is scheduled for October 2024 and will be published at nass.usda.gov.
Read MoreTomorrow, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is taking the next step to advance President Biden’s commitment to conserve old growth forests by publishing a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed national old growth forest plan amendment. The proposed amendment will be available tomorrow in the Federal Register, and will be open for public comment for 90 days following publication.
Read MoreDr. Zhu Ning, Chair and doctoral program leader of the Department of Urban Forestry, Environment, and Natural Resources in the SU College of Ag, has received the Spring 2024 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Southern University Baton Rouge campus.
A certificate and a monetary award were presented to Dr. Ning on April 19, 2024 by the Southern University Office of Sponsored Programs.
Read MoreLED 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreLouisiana 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.
Read MoreU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced that all 64 Louisiana parishes have been approved for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to restore and rehabilitate private forest lands impacted by severe drought and related insect infestation damage. The EFRP signup period runs from May 13, 2024, to July 12, 2024.
EFRP is a cost-share program that provides financial and technical assistance to owners of nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) to restore NIPF damaged by a qualifying natural disaster event.
Read MoreMinding 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
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreForest 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
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