Minding the Forest

Send us Fan Mail John and Vanessa Keith of Allstate Land & Timber in Haughton, Louisiana, were celebrated as the 2025 Outstanding Louisiana Logger. They were honored at last year's annual convention of the Louisiana Forestry Association. In this episode, we visit about their celebration and talk to them about John's role as president of the Louisiana Logging Council and board member...

Send us Fan Mail Few issues came up during the most recent session of the Louisiana Legislature concerning sustainable forestry, but there were come very important ones. Minding the Forest talks to Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen about the session that wrapped up Monday, June 1, 2026. Much of the bills that could affect sustainable forestry came through environme...

Send us Fan Mail The W.H. Ward family has grown and kept property in LaSalle Parish near Jena for almost a century. The men might have founded the company, but it was the women in later generations who elevated it into an extended family company with an annual meeting that has turned into a family reunion. Certainly there is a business meeting, but much the day is spent catching up and getting to...

Send us Fan Mail Dave Cupp is a manager for Walsh Timber Co. in Zwolle and president of the American Loggers Council talks about the start of Earth Day and how it affected his decision to become a forester. Cupp grew up in the Hudson Valley area of New York State and remembers when Lake Erie caught fire. More than 50 years after the first Earth Day, the environment in the United States is much bet...

Send us Fan Mail Markets are a challenge in the forest products industry, which trickle down to the small forest landowner. Consulting forester and Louisiana Forestry Association Past President Tim Holland talks about markets, which also was the topic of his Forestry 101 article in the Marsh issue of Forests & People magazine. Slow markets for mills to move their products means less wood going...

Send us Fan Mail Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen keeps a keen eye on the Louisiana Legislature whenever it's in session. The 2026 Regular Session began Monday, March 9 and is due to end in June. More than 20 bills filed for the session so far deal with Carbon Dioxide, in some form. And there are many other bills that the Forest Products industry will be foll...

Send us Fan Mail For more than a decade, Dr. Glen Gentry and a team have been working on a way to curb the population explosion of feral hogs in Louisiana. An example, he said if Louisiana had 1 million feral hogs, 750,000 would have to be eliminated every year to keep the population at 1 million. However promising, the process of getting it approved through the Environmental Protection Agency is...

Send us Fan Mail Different species of birds need forests of varying ages to thrive. To talk about that is Emily "EJ" Williams, who recently retired from the American Bird Conservancy as the Southeast Director of Sustainable Forest Partnerships. She's a wildlife biologist with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Georgia. While at the American Bird Conserv...

Send us Fan Mail Geologist Corey Shircliff works for Cavern Solutions in Baton Rouge and was a guest speaker at the LFA's convention in August 2025. A former state employee who worked with permitting wells in Louisiana, she has great knowledge about the new permits concerning Class VI wells that allow for injection of CO2 underground. This subject is topical in forestry as some companies look...

Send us Fan Mail Beaver Lake Renewable Energy is working toward building a biofuel facility in Rapides Parish at the former site of an IP paper mill. The plant will use about the same amount of pulpwood as the old mill, as well as residuals. Dan LeFevers, vice president, external affairs for Beaver Lake, talks about the facility and the challenges the company has experienced. Construction is hoped...

Send us Fan Mail Paul Stone is a conservation and senior forester for Crosby Resource Management based in DeRidder, Louisiana. He also is the chairman of the Endangered Species Committee for the Louisiana Forestry Association. Paul gives us an update on what is happening in that area. The red cockaded woodpecker has been down listed to threatened, for example, and the Monarch butterfly is under co...

Send us Fan Mail Brooks Mendell, CEO of Forisk Consulting, was guest speaker at the 78th annual convention of the Louisiana Forestry Association and took time to talk about the state of the forestry industry in Louisiana and the South. His research and insight gives us a good snapshot of the forest products industry in 2025 and what we can hope for in the coming year.  Forisk Consulting website — ...

Send us Fan Mail Dave Cupp has been a forester in Louisiana for more than 40 years, 30 of which he's worked for Walsh Timber Co. He has always maintained good relationships with Loggers and of late has served as Vice President of the American Loggers Council (ALC). This year he is set to take the reins of the ALC as its president when the organization that represents loggers in 47 states acro...

Send us Fan Mail State Rep. Jack McFarland is a Master Logger from Winnfield, the only logger in the Louisiana Legislature, giving his colleagues a different perspective of the forest products industry. Jack gives us an update on what happened in the Legislature that affects loggers and the rest of the industry. Minding the Forest is a podcast of the Louisiana Forestry Association and his hosted b...

Send us Fan Mail David Young is a third-generation tree farmer in Natchitoches Parish. His approach might be more business-like, but he still loves the land he's managed for several decades. Part of his philosophy includes having hunt clubs leasing portions of land. It's the "row-crop" of forest landownership.  Minding the Forest is a podcast of the Louisiana Forestry Associati...

Send us Fan Mail LFA Executive Director Buck Vandersteen talks about the 2025 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and how the forestry could be affected by laws that were passed. Minding the Forest is a podcast of the Louisiana Forestry Association and his hosted by LFA Media Specialist Jeff Zeringue. Comments can be sent to jzeringue@laforestry.com . If you want to find out more about th...

Send us Fan Mail Casey Durand of Central Timber Services of Pollock, Louisiana, was selected the 2024 Outstanding Louisiana Logger for the Louisiana Forestry Association and Louisiana Logging Council. Casey takes time to talk about his year with that honor and the state of the logging industry in Louisiana. Minding the Forest is a podcast of the Louisiana Forestry Association and his hosted by LFA...

Send us Fan Mail Jackie Harvey has been blessed to keep The Shades, a tree farm in West Feliciana Parish, in her family for more than 200 years. She is proud of that fact but is especially proud that her son will one day take the reins and carry on a family tradition for another generation. Jackie talks about how her father became a transplanted Louisianan from California and her experiences at th...

Send us Fan Mail Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen talks about the 2025 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature where insurance and tax reform will be the big issues it will address. How those bills will affect the forest products industry, especially forest landowners and loggers, will be included in the upcoming LFA Legislative Reports.  If you would like to...

Send us Fan Mail A forester and wildlife biologist is contesting the way wildlife enforcement agents are trained to enter private landowners property without a suspicion of a crime and warrant giving them permission to search the property. The lawsuit is being handled by the Institute for Justice, a Washington-based nonprofit law firm that fights for private property rights. The forester, Tom Manu...

Send us Fan Mail Mr. John Gallaspy has been a Tree Farmer since the 1960s. His father even before that. Raised in DeSoto Parish, but settled in Washington Parish where his late wife was grew up, Mr. Gallaspy reminisces about how there have been changes in forestry. He also is the author of the book, "The City that Refused to Die: Bogalusa the First Hundred Years".  Minding the Forest is...

Send us Fan Mail Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple talks about the progress made in 2024 during the Legislative sessions and the hopes for 2025. Want to contact the Insurance Commissioner's Office, the website is https://ldi.la.gov/ and their phone number is (225) 342-3612. Gov. Landry's veto of HB 423 Minding the Forest is a podcast of the Louisiana Forestry Association and hi...

Send us Fan Mail Each year forestry association directors and communicators from across the southeast United States get together to discuss what each is doing to spread the word about forestry and the forest products industry. This year's topic is Forestry Works, which is a program that started in Alabama and has since spread to 10 states. Minding the Forest teams with Voices of Forestry, a p...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Rich Vlosky had a round-about way to coming to Louisiana, but the LSU researcher has investigated many things about many forest products. Dr. Vlosky talks about his experiences in the forest products industry and the different products he's with which he's worked. You can contact him at rvlosky@agcenter.lsu.edu . References about Cross Laminated Timber ... Fire testi...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, there are tree canopies and forests in an urban setting! Paul Johnson, vice president of Urban and Community Forestry and Career Pathways for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and Darren Green, urban forester for the city of Alexandria, Louisiana, talk about the many aspects and benefits of trees in our cities. SFI even has standards that now include urban forestry....