By Johnny Morgan, jmorgan@agcenter.lsu.edu
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana placed fifth among 15 states that competed in the 39th annual National 4-H Forestry Invitational from July 29 to Aug. 2.
Teams from Alabama, North Carolina and Florida placed first, second and third, respectively. Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin also competed.
The event was held at West Virginia University Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, West Virginia, said LSU AgCenter forestry agent Robbie Hutchins.
“While at the Invitational, 4-H members competed for overall team and individual awards in several categories,” Hutchins said. “Events 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.”
Louisiana was represented by Josie Camp, of Winnfield; Sydney David, of Gross Tete; Reese Goldstein, of Harrisonburg; and Isaac Primeaux, of Maurice. Hutchins and AgCenter forestry agent Whitney Wallace coached the team.
The Louisiana team was chosen at 4-H University and consisted of the top four contestants in the state 4-H forestry contest. Goldstein was the fifth-place individual.
4-H is a youth education program operated in Louisiana by the LSU AgCenter.