Minding the Forest

Melanie and Gaston Lanaux were selected the 2023 Tree Farmer of the Year by the Louisiana Forestry Association for their tree farm, Chardet, in Husser, Louisiana. Affectionately called "The Krumpi", the Lanauxs have enjoyed the rural setting and practicing sustainable forestry. They also have endured two major hurricanes — Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ida in 2020. The Lanauxs talk about their gem and what their tree farm means to them.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Louisiana is coming out of an extreme drought as spring rains bring more moisture to the land, but the effects of the extreme, hot drought can last for years. Minding the Forest talks to Jim Meeker and Colin Bonser with the USDA Forest Service about the drought in Louisiana, its effects and for what forest landowners and folks with trees in their yards that have been stressed by the drought should be on the lookout. Have more questions? You can contact the USDA Forest Service office in Pineville, Louisiana, at (318) 473-7160 or you can email Meeker at [email protected] or Bonser at [email protected].

If you have stressed tree that appears to be dying or is dead and you need an arborist, click this link to find a list of arborists from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Episode 37: Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen talks about the regular session of the Louisiana Legislature which starts Monday, March 11.
If you're an LFA member and want to receive the Legislative Update email newsletter, submit the request by email to [email protected].
Not a member, visit our website to find out more and how you can become a member by clicking here.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Carbon storage is still a new topic for landowners with few acres of forest, but there are programs out there that owners of smaller forests can learn more about carbon storage and their forests. Michael Lauve of NativState talks about this emerging topic for owners of smaller forests and issues landowners need to learn bout to determine whether carbon storage could fit into their forest management plan.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Tax attorney Paul Spillers of Theus, Grisham, Davis & Leigh, is a past president of the Louisiana Forestry Association and makes presentations at forestry forums all over the state. We've taken the opportunity to have Paul talk about the issues he presents at forums. Please be sure to take this information only as general. No one should take any of the information provided in this episode as legal or tax advice, but you can use this to better ask questions of one's personal tax attorney or CPA.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Each year, forestry associations across the Southeast United States gather in Alabama to share what each is doing to spread the word about the benefits of managed forests and support the forestry industry. The people who work in communications for the associations often work on a joint project and this year decided to talk about what the associations do and forestry issues in each respective state. This conversation includes Susan Stutts of the Texas Forestry Association, Lee Ann Fisch of the Florida Forestry Association, Seth Stephenson of the Arkansas Forestry Association and yours truly (Jeff Zeringue) of the Louisiana Forestry Association.

There is a lot of overlap of what forestry associations do, as one would imagine, but there are some interesting differences and approaches. For anyone who listens to Minding the Forest, of Louisiana, and Voices of Forestry, of Arkansas, might get some overlap, but the message is consistent: Managed forests are better for the environment, wildlife and water; and we have a great story to tell.

The LFA would like to thank the three participants in this project, as well as the Alabama Forestry Association for being such great hosts!

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Tim Temple was selected Louisiana insurance commissioner before the primary election. Now he faces challenges to an ever-growing crisis in insurance in many areas. Temple talks about the issues and his hope to have insurance in a special session in 2024 before the Legislature's Regular Session in March.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Wildfires have destroyed thousands of acres of forest and several homes, costing Louisiana millions of dollars to suppress them. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain talks about the causes and dangers of the 2023 wildfires that also destroyed homes.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

Bette Kauffman is president of the Louisiana Master Naturalists Association, a statewide organization that promotes learning and conservation. The conservation message the group gives coincides well with managed forests. Want to find out more, check out the LMNA's website at https://www.louisianamasternaturalist.org/

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.

State Rep. Jack McFarland is a Smart Logger (Master Loggers who go the extra mile to get audited by a third-party) and is the only Logger in the Louisiana Legislature. McFarland talks about how he has been able to educate his colleagues about the forest industry and its contributions to the state's economy and jobs. If re-elected for a third term, it would be his last eligible term, making him one of the senior members of the State House of Representatives. The challenge, he says, is the disconnect many urban-area representatives have with the forest industry.

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 [email protected].

If you want to find out more about the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, go to forests.org.
Check out our website at laforestry.com.
Click this link to join the LFA.