Although Louisiana boasts 15,000 miles of shoreline and 40 percent of the nation’s wetlands, it loses an average of one acre of marsh lands every 20 minutes. To stem the relentless erosion of coastal wetlands, the LSU AgCenter has been applying proven scientific techniques for more than a decade to improve native marsh and coastal plants, conducting educational programs for Louisiana’s leaders of tomorrow and providing important information to the state’s public policy leaders.

Improvement of wild and captive white-tailed deer herds is just one of the projects at the LSU AgCenter's Idlewild Research Station near Clinton. This station, established in 1957, has been the home base for research on Louisiana’s wildlife, particularly deer – plus research on fruit crops and forest sustainability.

Louisiana has stepped out ahead of all other states in the nation in helping farmers learn to voluntarily comply with stricter environmental regulations governing water quality. This has happened because of the LSU AgCenter’s Master Farmer Program.

By far, Louisiana’s biggest agricultural industry is forestry, which contributed nearly $4.9 billion to the state’s economy in 2006. These trees are even more valuable if after they’re cut, they stay in Louisiana and are made into products here, rather than being shipped some place else. The LSU AgCenter is working to use these trees to fuel further economic development in the state.