August 2024

WOSC Field Day

Roundstone Native Seed

Nearly 100 woodland owners registered to participate in the WOSC Field Day at Roundstone Native Seed. The group learned about water quality and field management practices, woodland management, wildlife health, conservation practices, and more! KWOA is a WOSC co-sponsor.

KWOA Updates

KWOA seeks to train a new editor! This is a volunteer opportunity to work with many of the finest people in forestry-related research and projects in Kentucky at the state and county levels. Learn more on our site and contact info@kwoa.net if you are interested.

KWOA joins the Kentucky Farmland Transition Initiative (KFTI). Many members are concerned about preserving forests for our future and have expressed concerns about preventing the transition of our lands to non-agricultural/woodland purposes. Part of this issue relates to personal estate planning tools. Another aspect is having incentives in place to encourage future owners to continue the productivity and conservation of the land. Learn more about KFTI here and visit the Kentucky Farm Bureau display at the Kentucky State Fair.

KWOA is building a new website to provide a more user-friendly site and improve payment processing. Our address will be the same www.kwoa.net; however, we may not keep the site as up-to-date as usual during the transition. We hope to have the new site up and fully operational in September. If you have questions contact us at info@kwoa.net.

Upcoming Event Calendar

The Kentucky Prescribed Fire Council is offering three controlled burn and fire workshops in the month of August. Two will focus on controlled burns and will be offered in Elizabethtown and Carlisle. The final offering will focus on RX Fire.

August 25-26 Are you a watershed steward, watershed leader, or would you like to be? Join KWA's 2nd Annual Kentucky Network Watershed Summit!

Announcing the Fall Yale Forest Forum Speaker Series - Conserving Mature and Old-Growth Forests in a Changing Climate. The series begins on August 29, offered weekly through December 5.

September 13-14: Appalachian Land Owners Workshop

September 20-22: Practical Farm Woodland Management and see the full fall schedule at The Berry Center Farm & Forest Institute

September 22: Foraging Kentucky Tree Crops - with George Barnett^* in Louisville

*George was a scheduled speaker at the annual meeting canceled in 2020 due to COVID. His book, Foraging Kentucky: An Introduction of the Edible Plants, Fungi, and Tree Crops of the Southeast came out this year.

- Ongoing -

"From the Woods Today": Every Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET. See below* or at www.fromthewoodstoday.com

Yale Forest Forum Fall Speaker Series - Every Thursday at 12 pm ET.

KFB offers Kentucky Farm Life podcasts; subscribe for free here.

*"From the Woods Today": Wednesdays at 11 a.m. ET. You can watch via Zoom or Facebook Live Links to live shows are posted just before the show. Join live or watch recorded shows later at the website at www.fromthewoodstoday.com

Woodland Community Updates

New Soil and Water Extension website: https://soilandwater.ca.uky.edu/ (full of resources, including videos with KWOA members)

Soil and Water Conservation Society is recruiting early career professionals for its Emerging Leaders Program (https://www.swcs.org/get-involved/emerging-leaders-program). It is an immersive, interdisciplinary leadership experience designed to nurture the next generation of conservation leaders, and it is offered at no cost.

One Good Idea Farmer Shop Talks is a virtual meet-up series for row crop and livestock farmers who are currently using or thinking about using conservation practices as part of their operations. Register at https://goodideafarm.org/shop-talks/. This is a multi-state collaboration that includes KY. The next session will be Winter 2025 but check out the site to see how it works.

Your Local USDA Service Center FSA office is accepting applications for the Continuous CRP signup and for owners already in the CRP there is the Forest Management Incentive(FMI), which can help participants with forest management practices, such as brush management and prescribed burning.

Need Help in the Woods?

Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) Vendors List: HERE and https://eec.ky.gov/Natural-Resources/Forestry/Documents/Statewide%20Vendor%20List%202-8-17.pdf
Kentucky Association of Consulting Foresters lists at https://kacf.org/find-a-forester/
Check out the Quick Reference Links on our KWOA home page at kwoa.net
Ask at your local NRCS & FSA offices.

Planning a Harvest?

A Kentucky Master Logger must be on-site and in charge of every commercial logging operation (excluding horse loggers). Kentucky's best management practices must be used in every commercial logging operation (including horse loggers). Best to Check Out These Resources:

Kentucky Master Logger Program: masterlogger.ca.uky.edu
Kentucky Division of Forestry: forestry.ky.gov
Bad Actor Information & List: masterlogger.ca.uky.edu/bad-actor-information
Kentucky Association of Consulting Foresters: kacf.org/find-a-forester/

Just so you know...

If you haven't already joined the KWOA network, click here to join.
KWOA members receive a 10% discount at Forestry Suppliers. Get the code when you join!
You can share our news! See the links at the bottom of this message.
You can always contact us; send a message to info@kwoa.net with questions, suggestions, news, or to volunteer.

Growing Forests for Our Future! KWOA volunteers work year-round providing opportunities that benefit Kentucky's woodland owners and contribute to sustainable forestry.