The most popular event at the Southern Forestry Conclave is the crosscut saw competition. LSU College of Agriculture students Hayden Carter and Ashley Tunstall saw through 10-by-10-inch yellow poplar lumber in 24 seconds. Stabilizing the lumber are (from left) LSU students Devyn Albin, James Donovan, Kevin Kohl, Christian Flucke and a student from Louisiana Tech. Applauding are LSU students Virginia Spencer and Christian Rossi. Additional students from Louisiana Tech help cheer the team, even though they were competitors. (Photo by Niels de Hoop)

LSU College of Agriculture student Christian Rossi uses a sharp knife and a magnifying lens to identify 20 blocks of wood in the wood identification competition at the Southern Forestry Conclave held at Mississippi State University March 12-15. (Photo by Niels de Hoop)

LSU College of Agriculture student Devyn Albin shoots at a target 40 yards away in the archery competition at the Southern Forestry Conclave held at Mississippi State University March 12-15. (Photo by Niels de Hoop)

News Release Distributed 03/26/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – Crosscut sawing, canoeing, duck calling and ax throwing are some of the events LSU College of Agriculture students participated in at forestry and wildlife conclaves. The conclaves are competitions among students from different universities.

The Southern Forestry Conclave took place at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, March 12-14. The Southeastern Wildlife Conclave was hosted by Virginia Tech University at the W.E. Skelton 4-H Education Center at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, March 12-15.

University students from across the Southeast participated in the events.

Twenty LSU students attended the wildlife conclave. The LSU Forestry Club took nine students to the forestry conclave, all of whom participated in at least one event, according to Niels de Hoop, associate professor in the LSU College of Agriculture and faculty adviser to the LSU Forestry Club.

“There are 20 events at conclave. Eight are technical, such as tree identification. Twelve are physical events, basically logger sport events,” de Hoop said.

Hayden Carter, a junior and president of the LSU Forestry Club, said the conclave is a good opportunity to meet students from other universities.

“It gives you the chance to network with people you may work with one day,” Carter said.

Before heading to the conclaves, the students spent time preparing for the events. Carter said they brought in wood from Lee Memorial Forest in Bogalusa to practice sawing and chopping. They studied for the technical competitions.

Freshman Ashley Tunstall attended her first conclave, participating in several forestry events, including cross-cut sawing.

“It was exhausting, but you get in the zone, and all of your teammates are cheering you on,” Tunstall said.

Anna Claire Ferchaud, a senior and president of the LSU Wildlife Society, said conclave is a team-building exercise for students. They participated in events such as an obstacle course, field photography competition, a quiz bowl and a fly fishing contest.

“I think attending conclave is a good way to build relationships with students in your major. There is a tendency to have classes with the same people. This gives us a chance to get to know others,” Ferchaud said.

Conclave isn’t all about competition, de Hoop said. “LSU students always bring hospitality with them to the Southern Forestry Conclave by boiling crawfish for all the competitors.”

Neither LSU team placed in the top three schools at the conclaves, but both Carter and Ferchaud said their main goal at conclave was to have fun and learn from each other and from students from other universities.