October 2021

Louisiana farmers, ranchers and professionals who work in agricultural outreach can apply for up to $15,000 in grant funding to support their efforts through the Conservation Champions program.

Roughly 902 million acres — or a little more than 50 percent of the lower 48 United States — are currently managed as cropland, pastureland or rangeland. These working lands must be managed to provide critical habitat for the nation’s fish and wildlife, protect water resources and help mitigate climate change, while also meeting demands for food, fiber, fuel and animal feed.

GRAMBLING (AP) — One person was fatally shot and seven others were wounded Sunday at Grambling State University in the second deadly shooting at the Louisiana school within four days, officials said.

The shooting happened around 1 a.m. Sunday on the campus quad, according to social media posts from the university. The person who died wasn’t enrolled at the school, and the one victim who is a student was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. The victims’ identities haven’t been released.

CAILLOU LAKE (AP) — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has built a new 200- acre (81-hectare) oyster reef in south Louisiana.

The 200-acre reef in Caillou Lake will be closed to all oystering for at least two years to let tiny oyster larvae latch on and grow, the department said in a news release last week.

Enough crushed limestone to fill nearly 1,500 22-foot-long (6.7-meter) dumpsters was spread on the lake bottom to create the new reef.

A new program is being implemented for Cybersecurity Awareness month and offers free resources for the public.

Jeff Davis Parish Library Director Clare Coleman said the 2021 STOP.THINK.CONNECT. program is an informational campaign sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance.