By Jack M. Willis
Journal Correspondent

The Calcasieu Ranger District, a portion of Kisatchie National Forest, located in Central Louisiana, is divided into two land Units, the Evangeline Unit and the Vernon Unit. The Calcasieu Ranger District Offices are located on Louisiana Highway 28, 10 miles west of Alexandria, LA.

The Calcasieu Ranger District is one of five Ranger Districts comprising the Kisatchie National Forest, and is ably headed up by District Ranger Lisa Lewis. If one is privileged to engage in just a few moments of conversation with Ms. Lewis, it becomes abundantly clear that she loves her job, and all that it entails.

Ranger Lewis is a Vernon Parish native, graduating Leesville High School in 1982 and Louisiana Tech School of Forestry with a Degree in Forestry in 1986--and later received her M.S. in 1992. She was employed in a private industry capacity until 1989 when she became a Vernon Ranger District Trainee with the title of Other Resources Assistant--then she was promoted to the Supervisor's office and engaged as a member of a Forest Plan Revision Team.

She was then transferred to Wiggins, MS where she was on another O.R. A. team in the Desoto Ranger District, where she became a Planning Team Leader on a gargantuan district comprised of over 450,000 acres.

In 2000, it was back nearer to home as Ms. Lewis became District Deputy Ranger in the Kisatchie, working primarily with the Military who have a Special Use Permit lease of 95,000 acres of Kisatchie National Forest lands to use for military training and maneuvers.

In 2005 Lisa Lewis was elected to the position of District Ranger of the Calcasieu Ranger District, and took the reins of a very active timber and resource management program. The 187,000 acre district is one of the more prolific harvesters of timber when compared to other districts. They also engage in a very active prescribed burn program, averaging from 50,000 to 55,000acres per year. In fact, Ms. Lewis related that they are among the top three districts in the nation in prescribed burn activities.

For those devoted birdwatchers, and their numbers are growing every day, the Calcasieu Ranger District boasts of two large Red Cockaded Woodpecker trans-located populations-one in the Evangeline Unit and another in the Vernon-Polk Unit. Together, the two populations comprise the third-largest RCW concentration in the nation.

The crown jewels of the Calcasieu Ranger District are their recreation areas which are Kincaid, Valentine Lake and Loran/Claiborne Trailhead Camp.

The largest of the three is officially known as Kincaid Lake Recreation Complex, and provides seasonal swimming, boating, picnicking, hiking, camping and biking. The Ranger District Office is immensely proud of elaborate upgrades recently installed at Kincaid which includes a first for the Central Louisiana area--a convenient playground area for kids.

Back in the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed Valentine Lake which offers a scenic vista for picnicking and fishing. The Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail begins near Valentine Lake and ventures generally southeastward, safely skirting the old USAF Claiborne Bombing Range, with a terminus near the Town of Woodworth. It is approximately 27 miles in length and is designated for foot and bicycle travel only. State Highway 488 bisects the trail about midway, and the trail is accessible by roads at several other points.

In addition to its many beautiful, natural features, the Wild Azalea Trail provides the public with opportunities to see planned, well-orchestrated forest management in action. The results of timber harvests, thinning operations, planting site preparation, actual planting, prescribed burning and other forest management activities in various stages can be observed at some points along the trail.

The Forest Service continually strives, as directed by the U.S. Congress-- to dedicatedly offer increasingly better forest management and plentiful provision of skillfully crafted outdoor facilities to the residents of this great nation.

Back