Frampton Z. Ferguson, President of Ferguson Forest Products, Luray, SC, and SCFA's 2000 Outstanding Logger of the Year, has increased trucking efficiency and improved safety by installing GPS units on all his trucks.

He first considered the units several years ago but cost was prohibitive. Now they work through the cell phone system and cost is $500 per unit plus monthly monitoring service.

"This is by far one of the best investments I've made," he says. "It has absolutely helped us improve efficiency. And there's no doubt on mill turn around times."

He can run a search and receive detailed feedback on the exact time a truck was cranked, route it traveled, exact speed and length of time that speed was maintained, how long the truck was at the mill, and when the truck was turned off.

"Even if it goes out of cell phone range, it records for 72 hours and gives me a log of what drivers are doing," he says. "When we go on a new job, I set up the site and begin monitoring.

"If I receive a call from someone who says one of my trucks was speeding, it has a map I log on to and locate that particular truck and hit playback for the exact address and speed of that truck."

The changing structure of society makes it necessary for wildlife managers and hunters, anglers and other conservationists to work together more effectively.

Organizers of the SC Camo Coalition say there is a need for conservation leaders to unify their collective strength and apply it to protect water bodies, riparian zones and wildlife habitat, and the hunting, trapping, and fishing heritage.

One of the initial goals is support of the SC Forestry Commission's $4.2 million budget request for fire suppression equipment and personnel.

The Coalition's mission includes a shared commitment to:

· Promote youth education related to wildlife and habitat conservation and hunting, fishing and trapping,

· Scientific management of wildlife, fish and habitat, and

· Adequate funding of natural resource-related agencies.

Charter Coalition members are: SC Forestry Association, Carolina Quail, Coastal Conservation Assoc., Harry Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund, Lexington Wildlife Club, Outdoors Without Limits, Quail Unlimited, Quality Deer Management Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, SC Coon Hunters Association, SC Sporting Protection League, SC Trappers Association, SC Waterfowl Association, SC Wildlife Federation, Tri-State Bass Club, Trout Unlimited, and Wildlife Action.

To learn more, call 803/256-0670.

She was one of five educators selected nationwide for their commitment to environmental education, exemplary use of PLT, and exceptional teaching skills. She will be honored at PLT’s International Coordinators’ Conference, May 13–16, in Jackson, MS.

Ward is a 7th grade science teacher at Whittemore Park Middle School. She has been involved with PLT since the start of her teaching career in the late 1980s, when she helped field test many activities that became part of the revised PLT PreK-8 Guides. In 2005, she worked with the Horry Co. school district to get PLT activities incorporated into the curriculum as an example of ways to incorporate the environment into state curriculum standards and increase student achievement and PACT scores. She has conducted many PLT workshops, training over 200 educators in the Coastal area of South Carolina and Girl Scout leaders.

She was honored as SC Project Learning Tree Outstanding Educator of the Year during SCFA's 2005 Annual Meeting.

Along with her plaque, she received a forestry teaching kit and $100 for supplies.

Recognized for her innovative work in environmental education, she is noted for student-based school recycling projects, beautification and landscaping projects.

A certified PLT facilitator, she is helping other educators use the internationally-acclaimed environmental education program that teaches critical thinking skills and helps students apply them to real-world environmental questions.

She attended the 2006 South Carolina Teachers’ Tour that focused on Teaching Sustainable Forestry in Environmental Education.

Project Learning Tree is one of the most widely used environmental education supplements in the United States. Since 1984, about 16,000 South Carolina teachers have been trained and certified to use the PLT program.

Anne Bohnet has been selected as one of the 2006 National PLT Outstanding Educator of the Year award winners. Bohnet is an Education Associate for the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, University of South Carolina-Aiken, and director of the University's STEP (Science and Technology Enrichment Program). She teaches natural resource education through the STEP program, conducting programs at the Silver Bluff Audubon Society Sanctuary and Savannah River Site (SRS).

Trained in PLT in 1992, Bohnet has been an active facilitator in South Carolina, providing PLT workshops for hundreds of educators in the Savannah River area. She is a board member of the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina, a member of the SC Science Council, curriculum consultant with the National Turkey Federation and is presently serving as a member on the SC PLT Steering Committee. Bohnet was awarded the state SC PLT Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2004.

In the past seven years, six South Carolina teachers have been chosen to win this award.