Advertise on podcast: Minding the Forest

Send us Fan Mail Will deGravelle leads a small team that oversees stewardship on a network of preserves for The Nature Conservancy in Louisiana. He also manages and directs land protection efforts in a tristate area of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that makes up the Southern Deltas TNC chapter.  Will has a BS in Forestry from LSU and a Master's in Forest Resources from Clemson University. He's been with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 2015. In this episode he talks about how TNC manages forested land, which includes harvests to improve conservation at its sites. You can contact Will at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

Send us Fan Mail Brooks Mendell, CEO and founder of Forisk Consulting, was keynote speaker at the Louisiana Forestry Association's 79th annual meeting in August and took time talks bout the state of the Forest Products industry in Louisiana. Markets not only drive what products are sold, they also drive how landowners plant trees for the future. Brooks takes a look at these markets, takes a little look at the future and shares the research his firm has discovered over the past year.  You can find out more about Forisk on its website, https://forisk.com/. You also can contact Brooks via email at [email protected].  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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jim Barnett came to Louisiana in the early 1960s to research how to reforest the South with longleaf pine that had been over harvested in the early 20th century. Since his retirement in 2005, he also has written several historical books about forestry and the people in the industry. Jim talks about how he came to be scientist emeritus with the U.S. Forest Service and his involvement in the industry as well as the Southern Forest Heritage Museum.  You can email him at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

Send us Fan Mail Kate Gatto, is the chief strategy officer for the National Alliance of Forest Landowners and comes from a Tree Farm family in Mississippi. In a recent meeting of European Union officials, forestry organizations and forest landowners were told the European Union Deforestation Regulation is not going away but will be delayed until later this year. Kate fights for the small forest landowners and follows the subject closely. In this episode of Minding the Forest, she talks about the regulation and how implementing it could have the opposite result of its intention. Kate can be reached at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 of the American Loggers Council. John is an owner/operator of Allstate Land & Timber. You can reach him at [email protected] 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 environmental committees in the State House and State Senate. Carbon Capture also was an issue in several bills that could have affected several industries, including the forest products 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 know family. In 2025, the property, which is part of the American Tree Farm System, was selected Outstanding Louisiana Tree Farm. This is the family's story and stories of growing up learning to love the property as well as growing close to relatives.  You can contact forester Joe Shively at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 better. The day not only marks the progress made, but it also is a guide for many, especially foresters who view every day is Earth Day.  Want to drop him a line, send him a message at [email protected].   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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 to the mills and fewer trees harvested. Holland's company is Mudd & Holland Consulting Foresters in Shreveport (https://www.muddandholland.com/). 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 following this session.  Buck also puts out a Legislative Report periodically, sometimes a few times a week, depending on what bills are being heard. If you'd like to get the Legislative Report, send an email to [email protected] and ask that your email be added to the list.  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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 still a decade away. Gentry talks about the bait and what is the next phase to get it to market. You can contact Dr. Gentry at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 Conservancy, she worked "to stop the decline of migratory birds and enable conservation throughout their life cycle, according the conservancy's website, abcbirds.org. Because she is now retired, we don't have an email to share, but you can check out the American Bird Conservancy website above and find out more. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 looking to turn wood into biofuels would use residuals and small-diameter wood — pulpwood — such as paper mills used. Because of the decline of paper mills in Louisiana, the new biofuels industry could be a way landowners could get thinning performed, allowing their forests to grow larger wood for sawmills, but also it would help in the sustainable forestry cycle so that forests are healthier. Ms. Shircliff can be reached by email at [email protected]. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 to begin next year. LeFevers' contact is [email protected] Find out more about the project at www.beaverlakerenewable.com. 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.

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 consideration to be added to the list of Endangered Species.  If you'd like to reach out to Paul, you can contact him here: [email protected] 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 (SFI), go to forests.org. Check out our website at laforestry.com. Click this link to join the LFA.