The Louisiana 4-H forestry team won fourth place at the national competition in West Virginia on July 21-25. Representing the state from left, are LSU AgCenter 4-H agent and team coach Beth Blackwell, of Franklinton, Kaleb Danos, of Franklinton, Kaleb Deshotel, of Ville Platte, Miah Lognion, of DeRidder, Peyton Arthur of Florien, and LSU AgCenter area forester and coach Brian Chandler. (Photo by Clarissa Carnell)

BATON ROUGE, La. –The Louisiana 4-H forestry team placed fourth out of 13 state teams that competed in the 34th national 4-H forestry invitational held July 21-25 at West Virginia University Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, W.Va.

Members of the team are Kaleb Danos, of Franklinton, Peyton Arthur, of Florien, Kaleb Deshotel, of Ville Platte, and Miah Lognion, of DeRidder.

The Louisiana team was coached by LSU AgCenter area forester Brian Chandler, of Clinton, and extension agent Beth Blackwell, of Franklinton.

Teams from Pennsylvania, Alabama and New York placed first, second and third respectively, Chandler said.

The events of the competition included tree identification, tree measurement, compass and pacing, insect and disease identification, topographic map use, forest evaluation, the forestry bowl and a written forestry exam.

While at the invitational, the Louisiana 4-H members competed for overall team and individual awards in several categories, Chandler said.

“The Louisiana team received a bye in the first round of the forestry bowl because they placed third on the written exam,” Chandler said. “Our team made it into the finals of the bowl, which was a first for the state. They lost to the winning team, Pennsylvania, by just five points, 75 to 70.”

The competition was sponsored by Farm Credit System, The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc., the Society of American Foresters, West Virginia University Extension Service, the American Forest Foundation and the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals.