Author: Courtney Jenkins
Major Program: Woodland Education
Forests, also called woodlands, cover 48% of Kentucky and are mostly privately owned. These forests provide numerous environmental benefits such as improved air and water quality, as well as improved wildlife habitats. Our forests also contribute significantly to our economy, as Kentucky forest industry employs more than 60,000 individuals and adds $13.5 billion annually to the state's economy. Kentucky's forests can be healthier and more productive when landowners implement sustainable
Author: Carol Hinton
Woodland Stewards WebinairWe offered in the county the Woodland Stewards Webinair in 2020. We were apprehensive as we offered a similar class last year and each night that it was planned this year there were competing meetings in the other building. We had a great turn out with about 50% of the crowd attending 75% of the classes. Each night we had a different group of participants. There were landowners that had a range of 15 to 400 acres of forested areas out of the 58
Author: Ellen Crocker
Laurel wilt is a new invasive tree disease in Kentucky lethal to sassafras and spicebush. This disease is caused by a fungus, Raffaelea lauricola, and spread by the redbay ambrosia beetle, both of which are native to Asia. Infection by the fungus compromises the vascular system of the tree and can rapidly kill sassafras. While it has been present in coastal areas of the southeast for several years, killing redbay laurel, avocado, and other species, it was first detected in Kentu
Woodlands are extremely important to the economic and ecological wellbeing of Kentuckians. The state is 47% forested with over 12 million acres of woodlands and, collectively, the forest sector contributes over $13.5 billion annually to the state’s economy and impacts over 60,398 jobs. The vast majority of woodlands in the state are family owned. Supporting these woodland owners is key and Extension specialists and county agents across the state, partnering with agencies l
Forests are central to Kentucky’s economic and ecological wellbeing. The state is 47% forested with over 12 million acres of woodlands and, collectively, the forest sector contributes over $13.5 billion annually to the state’s economy including over 60,398 jobs. The vast majority of woodlands in the state are family owned. Supporting these woodland owners is key and Extension specialists and county agents across the state, partnering with agencies like Kentucky Division
Author: Andrea Stith
Barren County is home to 61,517 acres of forestland of which 82% is privately owned. Barren County served as a host for the 2020 Woodland Stewards Webinar Series that took place on February 6, 13, 20, 27, and March 5. Each webinar began at 6 PM CDT and concluded by 7:30 PM CDT. The webinars were distributed via Zoom. This regional webinar series was a follow-up to the series conducted in February and March of the previous year. The “Getting To Know Your Woodlands: Next Steps Webinar Series
Author: William Thomas
In 2018, the UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension team worked with Forestry and Natural Resource professionals from across the southeast US to plan and develop a 3-year regional educational program for woodland owners. The goal of the program is to educate and empower woodland owners to understand and implement forest management practices to make their woodlands healthy and productive. In its second year, the 2020 educational series consisted of five programs on: “Woodland Managemen
Kentucky’s forests and woodlands provide numerous benefits to the Commonwealth. The more than 12 million acres of woodlands in Kentucky serve as the foundation of a forest sector with over 53,000 jobs and an economic contribution of over $13 billion annually to the state’s economy. Forests also provide countless ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat, water and air filtration, as well as many recreational opportunities that support a robust tourism industry. More than 75% o
Author: Laurie Thomas
Forests are tremendously important to the economic and ecological well-being of Kentucky. The state is 47% forested with over 12 million acres of woodlands and, collectively, the forest sector contributes over $13 billion annually to the state’s economy and over 53,000 jobs. The vast majority of woodlands in the state are family owned. Supporting these woodland owners and their families is key and Extension specialists and county agents across the state, partnering with agencies like
Author: Jeffrey Casada
Forestry and woodland operations are a significant contributor to the rural economy of Clay County and all of Eastern Kentucky. In conjunction with the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and state agencies, Clay County hosted the 2019 Eastern Region Woodland Owners' Short Course. The event offered Gold (for the more experienced forest landowner) and Green (for the landowner new to management of forested land) tracts as well as classroom and field experiences. This is t
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 but not actively managed for timber, recreation or wildlife. The Kentucky Division of Forestry reports that 67% of the measured timber is Grade 3 or below. With this in mind, Clay County was able to host the Getting to Know Your Woodlands: Next Steps Webinar Series in
Author: DJ Scully
The recent Kentucky Extension Service Community Needs Assessment indicates that more community parks and greenspaces is a priority to Campbell County residents. A meeting with the Fort Thomas Parks and Recreation Department on program collaboration reveled and opportunity to encourage walking, hiking, and exploration in our communities. A committee of the Extension Environmental Advisory Council was formed by the Extension Agent for Natural Resources and Environmental Management. Mem
Author: Jonathan Oakes
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 20 went through all or part of the series. The webinar series allowed part
Author: Christin Herbst
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
Months of near isolation due to the COVID-19 outbreak has many people going a bit stir-crazy. Actual depression has even been observed and documented. These conditions have led many people to look for new things to do in settings that provide social distancing but still allows them to do things in small groups.This explains why the number of visitors to Hartig Park and Nature Preserve have skyrocketed over the past several months. The number of new visitors to the park has jumped 300 percent, an
Author: Shad Baker
How better to launch a brand new commodity day and recognize producers at all corners of the state than to contact the UK Cooperative Extension Service? That was the thinking when the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association partnered with UK Cooperative Extension and forestry department to promote the budding maple syrup industry. The group recognized that Extension has agricultural agents in every county across the state who know better than anyone what is being produced in their counties and that hav
Author: Jeremy Williams
There are approximately 59 million maple trees within Kentucky’s extremely dense forest. The availability of these trees are beginning to show signs of a new enterprise across the state to help drive economic growth for farmers, foresters and landowners. Maple syrup production has a long history, but in 2016, the Harlan and Letcher County Agriculture and Natural Resources agents worked with maple syrup producers to develop a Kentucky Maple Syrup School. The following year, tha
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 three part “Woodlands Webinar Series” The series provided educational programing for landowners and Kentucky Mast
