Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Sarah Fannin
Major Program: Woodland Education
Forestry and woodland operations are a significant contributor to the rural economy of Morgan County and East Kentucky. Via the UK Department of Forestry’s Woodland Owners Short Course, Extension prepares property owners to manage their woodlands, add value to their property and address challenges, while protecting the environment. In August, in partnership with UK Forestry and several other public/private organizations, Morgan County Extension hosted its first ever short cours
Author: Stacy White
Major Program: Woodland Education
Approximately half of Kentucky’s 25 million acres is forested. This forest land, largely privately owned, supports a timber industry that contributes $8.4 billion in direct economic contributions, $13.29 billion in total economic contributions, 26,068 jobs in the forest sector and an estimated 59,451 jobs overall. The greatest need of this huge economic resource is better forest management. The American Tree Farm System is a program for woodland owners who are commit
Author: Shad Baker
Major Program: Woodland Education
The Maple Syrup Industry continues to grow in the Commonwealth, with several Kentucky producers taking a serious look at what it offers to their farm income and off-season cash-flow. Like most agricultural enterprises, critical investments pay dividends down the road. To that end, two producers who have been on the forefront of the industry and have benefitted from Extension maple programming in Letcher County, have opted to increase the efficiency of their operations by utilizing Reverse Osmosi
Author: Nicole Rhein
Major Program: Woodland Education
The Woodland Owners Short Course (WOSC) educates novice and experienced private woodland owners to manage their lands and wildlife habitats. The Marshall County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources collaborated with the Univer
Author: Linda Hieneman
Major Program: Woodland Education
More than half the state of Kentucky is forested and of that land 78 percent is owned by private land owners. According to Billy Thomas UK Forester, Kentucky Woodlands are some of the most productive woodlands in the world if managed properly. Most landowners are unaware of all the programs that are available.These services can help develop management plans to ensure proper care and management to carry our woodlands to the next generations. In Greenup County both the Cooperativ
Author: David Coffey
Major Program: Woodland Education
Jackson county has an abundance of timber, lying directly in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The Jackson county agriculture and natural resources agent worked with the Kentucky division of forestry and university specialists to host the woodland steward’s webinar series. Jackson county hosted three of the series events and had twelve in attendance each night. Those present consisted of timber land owners and certified Kentucky Master Loggers. 90% of the county’s maste
Author: Bryce Roberts
Major Program: Woodland Education
The 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners was targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands as well as those with an interest in forests and wildlife. It was a partnership of UK Forestry Extension and numerous Forestry Extension Units from other nearby universities and the Southern Region Extension Forestry team th
Author: Jeremy Williams
Major Program: Woodland Education
Harlan County is comprised of 259,784 acres of forest land in which 93% is privately owned. Educating landowners about their forested property as well as providing Kentucky Master Loggers to gain continuing education hours helped to make fall forestry programming a success.The Harlan County Extension Service worked with the University of Kentucky to provide a five part “Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners.” The series provided educational programing for lando
Author: David Embrey
Major Program: Woodland Education
According to the most recent Forest Inventory and Analysis performed by the US Forest Service and the Kentucky Division of Forestry in 2016, of Edmonson County's more than 118,000 forested acres, approximately 61% are privately owned. Many landowners would like to be better managers of their forested acres, but are not sure where to begin. With this in mind, the Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent for Edmonson County signed up to be a host for the Getting to Know Your Woodland Webinar Ser
Author: Ted Johnson
Major Program: Woodland Education
Lee County Kentucky is made up of around 110,000 acres of forest, around 83 percent being privately owned. Average net value of saw timber trees, in board feet per forested acre is around 4,735. Lee County has 4 major saw mills in the county, and over 25 master loggers. The County Extension Service hosted a series of forestry webinars addressing many woodland owners and master loggers issues. Topics included: Getting to know your woodland, Managing Your Woo
Author: Jonathan Oakes
Major Program: Woodland Education
Kentucky is home to a vast amount of forest. The state is made up of 47% forest land and 78% of that is privately owned. Russell County is home to 91,263 acre of forest land with 75% privately owned. Russell County has also always had a strong forestry industry. The woodlands webinar series was held in conjunction with UK Forestry Dept. via webinar. During the course of the classes a total of 14 went through all or part of the series. The webinar series allowed part
Author: Jerry Little
Major Program: Woodland Education
Boyle/Casey county had the Tree Farmer of the year with the Clifton Taylor family. They own 1100 acres of timber under intense management. With the Taylor family winning this state award there is also a field day to highlight some of their management programs. U.K. Forestry, Ky. Division of water, Forestry Woodland Owners Association, U.K. extension, and the Ky. Division of Forestry were all involved in the field day. Water runoff, oak regeneration, marketing cull trees, white oak marketing, cos
Author: Andrea Stith
Major Program: Woodland Education
Barren County is home to 61,517 acres of forest land of which 82% is privately owned. The Barren County Extension Service worked with the University of Kentucky to provide a five part “Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners.” The 2019 series targeted Kentucky’s private woodland owners and was designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands as well as those with an interest in forests and wildlife. It was a partnership of UK Forest
Author: Michele Stanton
Major Program: Woodland Education
Like an old-fashioned barn-raising illustrates, it is sometimes easier to accomplish a large project in a short time if there are many willing hands. Additionally, collaboration with other community partners helps both Extension and the communities it serves, both to reach common goals and to accomplish projects much more quickly.Earlier this month, Kenton County Cooperative Extension Horticulture collaborated with seven different community organizations to plant trees on the site of its n
Author: Charles May
Major Program: Woodland Education
The Perry County Extension Service was a host site for the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series. This was a Primer that targeted Beginners of Kentucky’s private woodland owners. Since Perry County is close to 80 % forested, this was a perfect fit. It was designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands as well as those with an interest in forest wildlife.The Webinar was a partnership of UK Forestry Extension and numerous Forestry Extension Units
Author: Richard Cristan
Major Program: Woodland Education
Dr. Richard Cristan with Scott Hankla on the Hankla property in Boyle County.Bush honeysuckle (green shrubs) on the left side of the stream on the Hankla property flown in April 2019.Drones and drone related technology are being incorporated into many different fields. The use of drones in forestry is still being explored and Dr. Richard Cristan at Kentucky State University has been incorporating drones into his Extension program. Dr. Cristan has been working with forest landowners throughout th
Author: Carol Hinton
Major Program: Woodland Education
About the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for BeginnersThe 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners was targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands, as well as, those with an interest in forests and wildlife. It was a partnership of UK Forestry Extension and numerous Forestry Extension Units from other nearby universities and the Southern Reg
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Woodland Education
Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by Oldham County’s Extension and Agriculture Councils. An agriculture commodity that is sometimes overlooked is woodlands. Wooded areas are not only important for habitat, but managed correctly, these can also be an economically important part of any farm operation.The most recent Kentucky Forest Inventory, taken in 2016 by the U.S. Forest Service and the Kentucky Division of
Author: Gregory Comer
Major Program: Woodland Education
The timber industry in Ohio County is of major economic importance to landowners, with about 47% of the county’s landmass (178,213 acres) still in trees, as well as, employers, with 7 wood industry facilities in the county. Kentucky’s largest primary wood industry, Dunaway Timber, is located in the county. These primary wood industries are supported by the 50-60 Master Loggers located in Ohio County, which must maintain a level of educational CEU’s to r
Author: Jeffrey Casada
Major Program: Woodland Education
According to Kentucky Agriculture Statistics, Clay County has 301,000 acres of total land mass with 263,849 acres that is forested. Seventy percent of the forested land is controlled by private land owners. The Kentucky Division of Forestry reports that 67% of the measured timber is Grade 3 or below, and as such is not managed for either wildlife, recreation or timber activities. With this in mind, the Clay County Extension Service hosted the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webin
Author: Philip Konopka
Major Program: Woodland Education
About the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for BeginnersThe 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners was targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands as well as those with an interest in forests and wildlife. It was a partnership of UK Forestry Extension and numerous Forestry Extension Units from other nearby universities and the Southern Regio
Author: DJ Scully
Major Program: Woodland Education
The following testimonials demonstrate the value of Environmental Stewardship Grants to communities. The grant program was created by DJ Scully, Campbell County Extension Agent for Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and is funded by the Extension District Board. “To whom it may concern: My name is Ed Davis and I am currently the president of The Westside Citizen's Coalition, the neighborhood organization for the west side of Newport, Kentucky. During the
Author: Brandon Sears
Major Program: Woodland Education
Forested land in Kentucky is vitally important to the economy, wildlife habitat and quality of life for residents. It comprises nearly twelve million acres or 47% of the state and provides 37,500 jobs from 1,125 wood industries in 112 counties. Kentucky forest industries ship $6.4 billion in products each year. It is estimated that $1.5 billion is spent annually on fishing, hunting and wildlife watching. Interestingly, 78% of Kentucky’s timberland is privately owned.In Madison County, 29%
Author: William Thomas
Major Program: Woodland Education
The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Extension team worked with Forestry and Natural Resource professionals from across the southeast US to deliver a regional educational program for woodland owners. The program goal was to empower woodland owners to undertake environmental and forest health actions by increasing their awareness, experience, and access to technical and financial resources. The educational series consisted of five programs on: “Getting to
Author: William Thomas
Major Program: Woodland Education
The overarching goal of the UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension program is to provide current, applicable, information on the sustained use and management of the state’s forest and natural resources to elevate the quality of life of the people of Kentucky. This goal is especially important because nearly half of Kentucky is considered forestland. In recognition of the positive impacts the UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension program has had we received the 2018 National Fami
Author: Christin Herbst
Major Program: Woodland Education
According to the 2016 Forestry Inventory and Analysis performed by the US Forest Service and the Kentucky Division of Forestry, Carroll County has 25,650 forested acres (29% of the total acreage in the county) with 100% of those acres privately owned. There is an average of 3,952 board feet per forested acre of sawtimber trees. The total tree grade volume (Doyle Log Rule) is 101,378,835, of which 7.55% are Grade 1, 71.86% are Grade 2, 13.36% are Grade 3, and 7.23% are below Grade 3.B
Author: David Hull
Major Program: Woodland Education
In 2014, the Hartig Family offered, free of charge, over 530 acres of land to Gallatin County with the conditions that the land would never be sold or developed for housing or commercial use. In other words, they wanted it to stay a green-space.The county accepted the gift, but really had no clear idea of how to best utilize the gift. The Judge Executive at that time of Gallatin County approached the Gallatin County Extension Service (Ag Agent) and asked that we take a leadership role in definin
Author: David Hull
Major Program: Woodland Education
Because environmental issues are constantly grabbing headlines, and because of the "back to nature" movement becoming more mainstream in our society, the Gallatin County Extension Service has provided the residents of Gallatin County many environmental education and enrichment opportunities during the course of the year. Highlighted below are a few examples of the programming offered.3 Wildflower educational walks at Hartig Park2 Fall tree identification walks at Hartig Park"
Author: Kevin Lyons
Major Program: Woodland Education
The 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series: A Primer for Beginners was targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands as well as those with an interest in forests and wildlife. The program was web-based using the Blackboard Collaborate and ZOOM webinar systems and offered five evenings of educational programming broadcast to each hosting county extension office.February 21, 2019. Getting to Know
