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 the state of Kentucky in the management of their forests and detecting invasive plant species. He has been using drones to map forest stands to identify forest health concerns and the presence of invasive plant species. Forest health detection primarily involves identifying stressed or dead trees with the drone. These can include trees impacted by insects like the emerald ash borer (EAB) or trees stressed due to other factors related to soils, water availability, and many other factors. He has worked with several landowners in fiscal year 2019 and would like to note two of his landowners: Mr. Earl Gay and Mr. Clark Gay (property in Clark County) and Mr. Scott Hankla and Mr. Ren Hankla (Boyle County). Earl and Clark were interested in assessing the overall management of their farm and determining future goals for the property. Dr. Cristan was able to provide them with maps of the property to discuss with their family members on forest management, livestock management, and potential future business endeavors. Ren and Scott have been dealing with infestations of invasive plant species on their property and needed assistance to better locate these infestations on their large property for management of these species. Dr. Cristan was able to fly the drone over the entire Hankla farm (approximately 350 acres) and created a map using the high resolution imagery from the drone. The property was flown in February and April of 2019. In April, bush honeysuckle (invasive plant species) was actively growing while the hardwood trees in the forests and fencerows were not growing yet and the drone was able to pick up all the locations of bush honeysuckle on the property. The landowners will be using the created map and data from the drone to help control bush honeysuckle on their property and apply for NRCS EQIP cost-share funding. They now know where to focus their control efforts on the 350 acres. Scott and Ren are also interested in EAB impact on their property and Dr. Cristan will be conducting a forest health assessment using the drone in the summer of 2019.Dr. Richard Cristan, Chris Cribbs, and Chris Lyons assisting the Gay family with drone flights.