Tech’s Forestry Club, Wildlife Society excel in regional conclaves

The Louisiana Tech Student Chapter of The Society of American Foresters was a top finisher in several competitions during the 2022 Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Conclave in Crossville, Tennessee, and the University’s Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society excelled at the Southeastern Student Wildlife Conclave in North Carolina.

At the 63rd annual Forestry Conclave in March, Tech’s Student Chapter competed against 11 other schools and earned these top honors:

• Compass and Pacing: First place, Adam Bryant;
• Women’s Crosscut Sawing: First place, Annabeth Rawls and Paige Parks;
• Jack and Jill Crosscut Sawing: First place, Aaron Taliaferro and Annabeth Rawls;
• Photogrammetry: Second place, Austin O’Neal;
• Chain Throwing: Second place, Adam Bryant and Nathan Price;
• Archery: Second place, Jake White;
• Men’s Crosscut Sawing: Third place, Justin Taliaferro and Waylon Herring;
• Physical Events: Fourth place;
• Technical Events: Fifth place;
• Overall: Fourth place.

The Student Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, also known as the Forestry Club, is scheduled to host the 64th Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Conclave March 9-11, 2023, at Lincoln Parish Park.

The culminating forestry competition between southern schools, conclave is hosted by a different school each year and helps to develop team building, camaraderie, and social skills while strengthening teams through diverse competition.

Tech’s Wildlife Society delegation, which traveled to North Carolina to compete in April, was made up of 21 students from both the School of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry and the School of Biological Sciences, as well as faculty advisors Dr. Heidi Adams and Dr. Bill Patterson.

The event was hosted in Clyde, North Carolina, by Haywood Community College and Western Carolina University. Just over 300 students from 17 college and university wildlife programs from across the southeastern United States attended.

Student participants competed in the intellectual, wildlife-based competitions of dendrology, radio telemetry, lab practical, field measurements, nature poetry, trap setting, and field photography. Physical competitions included archery, rifle, shotgun, obstacle course, kayak relay, fly casting, and orienteering.

There were also artistic (drawing, painting, freeform, landscape photography, wildlife photography, game camera photography) and game calling (turkey, cervid, waterfowl) competitions, plus a quiz bowl tournament and team field competitions.

“In addition to competitions at the event, students got to participate in workshops and field trips, such as chemical immobilization, herpetology, and wildlife necropsy,” Adams, associate professor in Tech’s Agricultural Sciences and Forestry program, said. “They were able to learn something new and possibly witness or take part in an activity they’d learned in class. Additionally, they were able to network with students and professors from other college and university wildlife programs from across the southeastern United States.”

Tech placed in these competitions:

• Archery: First place, Jake White;
• Orienteering: First place, Waylon Herring and Adams Bryant;
• Cervid Calling, First place, Annabeth Rawls;
• Field Measurements, Second place, Nathan Price and Mikail Bowel;
• Nature Poetry: Second place, Hailey Stroderd;
• Waterfowl Calling, Third place, Adam Bryant.

Tech’s Wildlife Society is a student organization that any student with an interest in wildlife conservation is free to join, regardless of major.