Author: Laurie Thomas
Major Program: Woodland Education
Yellow-poplarA major effort of the Forestry and Natural Resources Extension unit is to educate Kentucky woodland owners on the importance of sustainable woodland management for the environment and the economy. Almost half of the state is covered in forested land, which is close to 12.4 million acres. Of these woodland acres approximately 73% of it is privately owned by families and individuals.The Forestry and Natural Resources Extension unit has developed many successful educational programs to
Author: Shad Baker
47% of Kentucky's 25 million acres are forested. Over three-quarters of those forested acres are privately owned by individuals, with a total of 423,000 private citizens owning those lands. Many landowners desire to generate income from their acreage, even in between timber harvests.Interest in medicinal herbs and natural remedies continues to grow across the US and Kentucky, home to some of the most biologically diverse woodlands in the world is primed to benefit. The Letcher County Extensi
Author: William Thomas
Nearly half of Kentucky is covered in forests (or woodlands). These woodlands provide many environmental benefits and support a diverse forest industry that is a key part of Kentucky’s economy. Because of the diffuse nature of the forest industry in Kentucky relatively few people realize how significant it is or the importance of woodlands to Kentucky’s economy. To address this knowledge gap, UK Forestry Extension along with faculty and graduate students in the UK Department of Fores
Most of Kentucky’s forests (or woodlands) are family owned. A major educational effort of UK Forestry Extension is to raise the awareness and importance of sustainable woodland management among this population which includes encouraging them to work with a professional forester. Because of a wide diversity of tree species, past land use history, and varying objectives these family woodland owners, including many farm families, often need technical assistance and incentive programs to help
Author: DJ Scully
Cities in Campbell County frequently request assistance with environmental stewardship projects, like increasing tree canopy cover along streets and in parks. Likewise, school personnel desire to engage students and help the environment by designing, planting, and maintaining pollinator gardens.Currently, urban forest management is recognized by the U.S. Forest Service as an important issue, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicates pollinator protection as an important concern
Author: Jeremy Williams
Harlan County and other eastern Kentucky counties have experienced devastating economic loss over the past decade. Residents are looking for new opportunities to use their resources (in this case, maple trees) and improve the economy for themselves and the region. The Agriculture and Natural Resource Agents in Harlan, Letcher, and Lawrence Counties in Kentucky and Wise County, VA have worked closely with the University of Kentucky Forestry Specialists to conduct demonstrations,
Author: Victor Williams
Laurel County Extension Office hosted the 2017 Woodland Owners Short Course on Saturday August 12th. The WOSC is the largest woodland owner educational program offered in Kentucky and is supported by more than 10 forestry and natural resource agencies and organizations. The WOSC program is targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and is designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands. The program included classroom and field programming for new and ine
Author: Bonnie Sigmon
Laurel County Extension Office hosted the 2017 Woodland Owners Short Course on Saturday August 12th. The WOSC is the largest woodland owner educational program offered in Kentucky and is supported by more than 10 forestry and natural resource agencies and organizations. The WOSC program is targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and is designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands. The program included classroom and field p
Author: Susan Fox
Shiitake mushroom workshops are common in eastern Kentucky but novel for western Kentucky. Calloway and Lyon Counties collaborated on the first Shiitake Mushroom Workshop and Hike this April. Twenty-nine participants learned about shiitake mushroom culture and about mushroom identification and characteristics from Ellen Crocker, University of Kentucky Post-Doctoral Scholar. There were opportunities to view preserved mushroom specimens and to use what they had learned and identify mushrooms in pi
Author: Linda Hieneman
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 Coo
Author: Michele Stanton
Success Story: Woodland Owners’ Short CourseMichele Stanton, Kenton County Agent for HorticultureKentucky’s woodlands are one of the state’s most important natural and economic resources. Over 47% of the state’s land mass is comprised of woodlands—more than 25,000,000 acres. The state’s forest industries gross more than 6 billion dollars annually from the sale of timber, furniture, paper, and other forest-derived goods. The recreation industry is importa
Author: Chris Ammerman
Grant County has nearly 100,000 privately owned forested acres, representing 59.6% of the total number of acres in the county. Understanding the importance of educating landowners to best utilize and enjoy these potentially valuable assets. In recent years repeated inquiries about management of forested areas and developing woodland coupled with the presence of Master Loggers in the county, Grant County participated in the Fall Forestry Webinar Series in November and December 2017.The 2017
Author: Joanna Coles
The Woodland Owners Short Course (WOSC) is targeted at Kentucky’s private woodland owners and is designed to assist private woodland owners in the management of their woodlands. The WOSC is the largest woodland owner educational program offered in Kentucky and is supported by more than 10 forestry and natural resource agencies and organizations. Warren County had 88 woodland owners & 14 forestry professionals attend representing 9362 woodland acres.Short-term impacts: A pre-test and po
Kentucky has an abundance of maple trees and the rural parts of the state are in need of new enterprises to drive economic growth. In an effort to expand the maple syrup industry and to help promote the commodity within the state and region, the Letcher County Extension Service, in partnership with local leadership and the Harlan Co. Extension Service has worked to form the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association. The association's focus is on marketing maple syrup and various maple-based, value-ad
Author: Daniel Allen
Woodland Course Offered According to the USDA Kenton County has nearly 50,000 acres of forestland, and 90% of this forest land is privately owned. During the fall 2016 meeting of the Kenton County Agriculture Advisory Council, they asked the ANR agent to consider a program that would benefit any landowners that wished to manage their forestland. The Agriculture agent asked the UK Department of Forestry to consider bringing a session of the Woodland Owner’s Short Course to
Author: Robert Marsh
Approximately 80% of Rowan county is forested and well over half is privately owned. Morehead has long been a center for the forest industry and recent establishment of a white oak stave factory has stimulated interest in selling timber. UK Forestry Extension has produced several series based webinars over the years and Rowan County Extension has been a host site for several years. The 2017 Webinar Series included educational information related to Deer Management, Engaging People in Citiz
Author: Eric Baker
Estill County is located in the eastern knobs and eastern coalfield region of Kentucky with 116,480 acres of forest land. Timber is a very important part of our local economy. Woodland management and sustainable forest practices are very important to Estill County residents Jack, Teresa, and Caleb Stickney. Since 1987, the Stickney’s adopted a sustainable approach to managing their 100 acre woodland and take advantage of the many agriculture and conservation-based agencies and cost s
Author: Gregory Drake
~~Forrest management is an important skill for Butler County landowners. Woodlands are used for timber production, wildlife habitat, and other recreational activities. 34% of Butler County’s 150,000 acres of farmland is forested. The program focused on forage management, there was a drone demonstration, a discussion on call before you did (811) and a presentation on resources available to landowners from the KY Division of Forestry. The agriculture agent organized,
