The 2021 Kentucky Master Logger WebTV Program was hosted in 30 Kentucky County Extension Offices to reduce drive time and travel for the logging workforce by providing relevant and timely information delivered close to home. All of the content was delivered live from the UK Forestry and Natural Resources Departments Webinar Studio on campus and streamed to the participating county offices, including Lewis County.   Of the 376 Master Loggers dispersed throughout the participating county offices in strict masked and distanced protocol, 30 attended in Lewis County.     This training allowed the loggers to receive their mandatory six hours of continuing education to maintain their Master Logger Designation within accordance to the Kentucky Forest Conservation Act KRS 149.330 to 149.355. This took extensive time and communication to generate, film and prepare the technical content for delivery in the program as well as coordination with the county agents participating to ensure that the program ran properly and to the strict guidance's required to put on this program and protect the safety of participants.  In order to meet COVID guide lines with 30 participants the one day training was offered three times on three different days.

The master logger program requires the continuing ed programs to be proctored and delivered face to face. Feedback from the Loggers indicated that this was program was successful and enjoyable to listen to for a continuing education program. One participant said "The content and segments were great, this was the best master logger program I have attended in all my years going to these." Another participant said that they could hear better during this program as there were fewer people in the room due to the capacity limits.  The logging workforce is critical in the harvest of private woodland owners’ forests and accomplishing their land management objectives as well as supporting the forest sectors $14 billion economic contribution.

Logging is a huge part of Lewis County economy by being able to offer CEU in the county safe loggers time and travel expenses.