Minding the Forest
We talk about sustainable forestry, how important managed forests are to Louisiana and its economy and how forests benefit everyone. Managed forests offer more for water and wildlife. That's why the Louisiana Forestry Association advocates to keep forests as forests! We also talk about the issues important to the forest products industry.
Episodes
68 episodes
W.H. Ward Family Property: 2025 Outstanding Louisiana Tree Farm
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 ...
Earth Day 2026 from the view of a forester — Ep. 67
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 Sta...
Forestry markets through the eyes of a forester — Ep. 66
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 Fo...
Carbon a big topic in the Louisiana Legislature's Regular Session — Ep. 65
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 th...
Feral hog bait seems promising — Ep. 64
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...
Managed forests are perfect for birds! — Ep. 63
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...
CO2: How are the wells permitted and how is it stored underground? — Ep. 62
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 per...
Making biofuel from wood: Beaver Lake Renewable Energy facility to come to La. — Episode 61
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 ...
Endangered species update — Ep. 60
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...
Forestry Economics for 2025 — Ep. 59
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 ...
Loggers around the country to meet in Louisiana — Ep. 58
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 (A...
Legislative Logger Jack McFarland — Ep. 57
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 Legislatur...
A look a the business side of tree farming, benefits of hunt clubs — Ep. 56
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 ...
LFA Executive Director Buck Vandersteen — Ep. 55
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.
Casey Durand, 2024 Logger of the Year — Ep. 54
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 ...
Jackie Harvey, 2024 Outstanding Louisiana Tree Farmer — Ep. 52
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 tra...
Start of a new Legislative Session in Louisiana Ep. 53
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 p...
Landowner Rights — Ep. 51
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 ...
Reminiscing over 60 years of tree farming with John Gallaspy — Ep. 50
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 fores...
Insurance affecting forest products industry — Ep. 49
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 h...
Forestry Works in U.S. forestry — Ep. 48
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 Work...
Forest products with Dr. Rich Vlosky — Ep. 47
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...
Urban Forestry — Ep. 46
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 Alexa...
Economics of Louisiana Forestry, Ep. 45
Brooks Mendell is founder, president and CEO of Forisk Consulting and has been a guest speaker at the Louisiana Forestry Association's annual convention often over the years. His expertise in researching markets and trends is stellar and he is ...
