MEMBERSHIP:     The Louisiana Chapter was finally created in 2008 with a membership drive that added nine (9) new members to the existing members that were residing in other Chapters.   The Louisiana chapter currently has 11 paid members.

RESTORATION:  The current restoration project for the Louisiana Chapter is the Mosley Hill Fire Lookout Tower. Due to a State highway widening project that placed the tower in the middle of the right-of-way, the lookout had to be moved for preservation purposes. This fire tower was in inactive status with the U.S. Forest Service who had many times tried to give it away and have it moved off federal lands. Fortunately this did not happen, and paved the way for our current rescue, de-erection, move, re-erection, and restoration project. The tower was de-erected on February 1, 2006, and in the week that followed moved to a location near the re-erection site were it sat in its various pieces for nearly a year and a half. On July 13, 2007, the fire tower was finally re-erected. In May of 2007 the Catahoula District of t he Kisatchie National Forest held a Passport in Time (PIT) project to reconstruct the floor of the cab that had been virtually destroyed by a vandalism fire. The floor was completed, and the cab had some window frames straightened and a fresh coat of paint applied. We are currently working on acquiring funding to reconstruct the bottom 20 feet of stairs that were removed and discarded for safety purposed in the 1980s. The cost will be approximately $8,000.00 to remanufacture the stairs and have them installed by a certified rigger. We look forward to completing this step, because we have local companies that have offered to donate such things as the glass for the cab windows and floor covering for the cab floor.  The Chapter also looks forward to the presentation of our Registry one day.

CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT:  We will be working hard to gain more members in 2009.

ACTIVITIES:   Aside from the continuing restoration of the Mosley Hill Fire Lookout, it is being tied to and included in the Stuart Lake Outdoor Environmental Education park currently under development. Stuart Lake was a CCC constructed water impoundment built to provide water to their seedling orchard.  It is planned to construct an education/interpretation center where Mosley Hill will be the focal point for a discussion on fire effects on various management areas like Wildlife, Archaeology, and Timber Production.

PLAN OF WORK FOR 2009;

• Develop a list of all towers that exist or have existed in Louisiana.
• Continue with the restoration of Mosley Hill Fire Lookout and the accompanying Outdoor Environmental Education Park.
• Grow membership by 10%
• Have a fund drive to purchase our initial batch of Mosley Hill Fire Lookout Tower patches.                                                                                                   

Respectfully submitted:  Mark Gutzman,    Director                                               
10 January 2009