A Slideshow of Early Louisiana Forestry Practices

When I started working for the Department of Agriculture and Forestry in the fall of 1989, I was assigned a small corner office in the old department headquarters in Oberlin, LA.

This old building dated from the era of the Great Depression. I was told that it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp, and commissioned under the Roosevelt administration.

This organization put a lot of local men back to work during a time of unprecedented economic disaster.

The original structure was built from the products that our local saw mills produced and the quality of the materials were unmatched anywhere.

Unfortunately they didn't save any of the original materials when the old offices were demolished and replaced with a more modern facility.

My small office had an old rusty filing cabinet in one corner that was full of old slides and photographs. These were casually stuffed into boxes and faded yellow file folders.

One day, I went through this collection and got permission from my boss to scan them into our computer system. I burned several copies onto CD's to distribute among our other offices.

I kept one for myself!

It is shocking to see, on these old slides and photographs, the total disregard for responsible land management that our grandfathers practiced.

Today, the timber industry in Louisiana has come a long way.

Slash and burn is no longer acceptable and the scars of the past have all but disappeared.

This quote from the Louisiana Forestry's web site reflects a new age of responsible management of our forests lands.

"Louisiana’s forestlands cover 48% of the state’s area or 13.8 million acres. Private, non-industrial landowners own 62
percent of the state’s forestland, forest products industries own 29 percent and the general public owns 9 percent. This
renewable resource provides the raw material for Louisiana’s second largest manufacturing employer – the forest
products industry – with over 900 firms in 45 parishes directly employing over 25,000 people. An additional 8,000 people are employed in the harvesting and transportation of the resource. Louisiana’s forests provide a multitude of other benefits, including clean air and water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and scenic beauty
With adequate protection, followed by appropriate and accepted forest management techniques, Louisiana’s forests are available to serve our state, both rural and urban, not only on a sustained basis, but at an increased level of productivity. Recognizing the various interests and needs of so many owners, efforts to encourage and promote sound forestry practices on such a vast area requires a balanced, educational process."

I pulled some of the photos that represent the logging methods practiced back then.

As far as I can determine, these photos are from about 1920 to just before World War II. Unfortunately not all of them were dated.

I made this little slide show that you might enjoy.

Where We've Come From.. by Chip Knowles aka beekerst

Source of quote previously documented in the above post is:
http://www.ldaf.state.la.us/forestry/

I hope you liked this short post!

Please comment below and give me your opinion. Resteem for your friends if you think they might find value in it.

And as always,

Carry on!