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.

Based on this data, there is a high potential for improving the quality of trees through forest management.  It is also important to educate woodland owners about woodland management practices and encourage the use of professional foresters with the Kentucky Division of Forestry or Kentucky Association of Consulting Foresters.  To share this important knowledge with the community, the Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service participated in the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webinar Series:  A Primer for Beginners.

This program 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 that was hosted by county extension offices with county extension agents/staff serving as local hosts. 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.

The programs were as followed:

• February 21, 2019. Getting to Know Your Woodlands. Dr. Don Bragg (USDA Forest Service), Dr. Bill Hubbard (Maryland Extension), Walt A. McPhail (Distinguished Tree Farmer), Derrick Phinney (Clemson Cooperative Extension)
• February 28, 2019. Managing Your Woodlands. Dr. David (University of Georgia), Dr. Kyle Cunningham (Arkansas Extension), Dr. Wayne Clatterbuck (University of Tennessee)
• March 7, 2019. Identifying and Managing Woodland Threats. Dr. David Coyle (Clemson University), Dr. Lauren Pile (USDA Forest Service), Dr. Hank Stelzer (Missouri Extension)
• March 14, 2019. Wildlife and Woodlands. Dr. Craig harper (Tennessee Extension), Dr. Bronson Strickland (Mississippi State Extension), Dr. Mark McConnell (Mississippi State Extension)
• March 21, 2019. Forestry and Wildlife Assistance in Kentucky. Billy Thomas (UK Forestry and Natural Resource Extension), Dr. Ellen Crocker (UK Forestry and Natural Resource Extension), Pam Snyder (Kentucky Division of Forestry), Clay Smitson (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources), Deena Wheby (Kentucky Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Both Kentucky Master Loggers and woodland owners attended the series.  Attendees resided from Carroll, Gallatin, Owen, and Henry Counties.  As a result of the program, all attendees reported they would know who to contact with questions about their woodlands.  Knowing who to contact is an important first step to making woodlands more productive and healthier.  19.25% of attendees indicated they planned to contact a natural resource professional (extension, forester, wildlife, NRCS, etc.) within the next three months about their property.  On average, participants reported an increase in knowledge after a specific program concluded.

The long-term impacts from this program will result in participants’ enhanced ability to address a variety of woodland related issues, resulting in increased revenue, increased woodland productivity, and improved woodland health. These benefits occur to the individual, our county, and our Commonwealth.