Louisiana enjoys a group of skilled and dedicated extension specialists who serve the state in the areas of forestry, urban forestry, forest products, fisheries and wildlife, although there are a few key positions to be replaced. Collectively, the specialists — Drs. Rich Vlosky, Cornelis de Hoop, Hallie Dozier, Greg Lutz, Julie Lively and Jeffrey Plumlee — offer technical education, needs-based research and timely learning opportunities to Louisianans from many professional sectors ranging from coastal fisheries to urban and community forestry. Some of the programs help clients maintain or gain professional credentials, and others focus on the delivery of critical information relevant to producers in their respective fields. Altogether the extension staff assists the producers and service providers so they, in turn, can assist the people of Louisiana in a safe, responsible and professional manner. Additionally, RNR’s extension staff members deliver programs and services directly to end consumers across Louisiana, including master gardener and 4-H groups, as well as through various community events and publications.

Dr. Jeffrey Plumlee conducts reef fish outreach and education in the northern Gulf. He carefully assesses stakeholders’ preferences, perspectives on management and visions for the future as they sometimes are poorly represented in the process of making fishery management decisions. Largely, when decisions are made for federally managed fisheries, the input of stakeholders (e.g. fishermen) are solicited but result in very little participation. For recreational anglers, fishing is largely a pastime and participation in management can be viewed as an unwelcome burden, especially for anglers that fish for federally managed species offshore beyond state-managed waters.

Drs. Julie Lively and Jeff Plumlee, with others, are involved in a project aimed at improving the communication between resource managers and resource users to facilitate participation and improve the perception and management of marine fisheries. The Reef Fish Extension project led by Sea Grant specialist Dr. Marcus Drymon from Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant, aims to build on the flow of information from stakeholders to management and the scientific community for federally managed reef fish in the northern Gulf. To date, the project spread across all the Gulf states and South Atlantic has resulted in 75 extension publications; development of multiple extension programs including Fishermen Invested In Science, Healthy Ecosystems and Sustainability (FISHES); and partnered with other successful extension programs including Return ’em Right (https://returnemright.org/). The program is entering its final year and there are plans to continue to engage anglers and author additional guidance on best management practices for reef fish fishermen across the southeast United States. For more information about Dr. Plumlee’s fisheries extension programs, email jplumlee@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Although extension is not a regular duty for Dr. Christopher Reid, he regularly heads outreach efforts in the state. For example, he led a coastal plant identification course for the staff of the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management in October. The event was a great success, where participants learned identification of plants along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Reid also regularly conducts plant identification training twice a year for students in the Greater New Orleans Master Naturalists program.

Dr. Hallie Dozier’s main outreach program is the Louisiana Arborist Continuing Education Program. In 2024, she offered continuing education opportunities through both virtual and in-person platforms. Both options remain very popular among state arborist licensees. Dozier’s 2024 program concentrated primarily on physiological response of trees and strategies to mediate the stress trees experienced during the 2023 summer heat and drought, with a lean toward management that will retain as many trees in the landscape as possible. The program also introduced a topic not normally explicitly covered in this program — ethics in arboriculture. This topic has generated excellent discussion among state-licensed arborists.

In addition to training tree care professionals, 2024 was the second year where Dozier secured national/international experts to train Agriculture and Natural Resources agents on matters related to residential tree care, including tree risk assessment and advanced planting and pruning techniques. These trainings are supported financially by the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Community Forests program through Baton Rouge Green. Finally, as in years past, Dozier again offered a five-day exam review short course for clients seeking to earn state licensure or international certification.

Dr. Julie Lively shows off a red snapper.

Exam candidates from across Louisiana participated in a multi-day exam review course in December at LSU Lee Memorial Forest.

Instructor Dr. Chris Reid, right, teaches coastal plant identification to staff of Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management as part of a workshop held in October in the marsh along Lake Pontchartrain.