Forest health is a rapidly changing field and communication between key stakeholders is needed to ensure that decisions are made in a timely manner.  The arrival of new invasive insects, pathogens, or plants with the ability to cause widespread ecological and economic damage requires a prompt and coordinated response.  However, communication about forest health is hampered by the fact that a wide range of different professionals, from academic researchers, to agency officials, to professionals, are needed to make key decisions and avenues where members of these different groups meet and discuss issues are rare.  To improve this and enhance the Kentucky’s forest health capacity, I lead semi-annual meetings of the Kentucky Forest Health Task Force.   This diverse group of ~30 individuals shares information about forest health issues and identifies needs to improve the health of the forests of our commonwealth.

The Kentucky Forest Health Task Force was initially convened in 2003, sparked by members of the Kentucky Woodlands Owners Association who recognized the need for increased communication between professionals, researchers, and landowners about issues affecting the health of trees, but this group has been inactive for over 10 years.   I worked with the Office of the State Entomologist to reconvene these meetings in 2019 with a wide group of members including representatives from Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky Woodland Owners Association, Kentucky Forest Industries Association, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Farm Bureau, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky Invasive Plant Council and others.  

Over the past year, this group met in December 2019 and hosted a conference in February 2020.  Through these meetings and communication over the group’s new email listserv, members recognize forest health threats, prepare for the arrival of threats, and work together to rapidly respond as needs arise.   This group overall has improved the ability of members to appraise current forest health situations, evaluate potential threats, and provide recommendations for management.