LEXINGTON, Ky., – Woodland owners can find many benefits from attending one of three University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service short courses tailored to their region. The 2019 Woodland Owners Short Course will take place around the state in July and August.

“There are many resources available to help woodland owners achieve their objectives, but not everyone knows where to turn for advice,” said Billy Thomas, UK extension forester in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. "The Woodland Owners Short Course connects landowners with professionals to help achieve owners’ particular management goals, whether that’s recreation, timber harvesting or wildlife management.”

Well-managed forests abound with possibilities, including extra income, recreational opportunities and a beneficial environment for wildlife. Both novice and experienced landowners can come away from the course with useful information in all three aspects.

The one-day course is offered in each of the three geographical regions of the state. Local planning committees have developed the regional programs with local needs in mind, so each region’s course will vary slightly from the others.

Participants can choose from two programming tracks, green for woodland owners just getting started and gold for those already actively managing their woodlands or who have attended a previous short course. Each track features both indoor and outdoor presentations and includes a visit to a nearby woodland.

Depending on the track and the region, sessions will cover such topics as tree identification, timber sales and trespass issues, woodland management practices, wildlife habitat management, invasive species, riparian buffers and National Resources Conservation Service assistance programs.

Each short course begins at 9 a.m. local time, with on-site registration at 8:30 a.m., and concludes around 4:30 p.m. Lunch is included. Due to limited space, organizers strongly advise people to register early.

In the west region, the course is scheduled for July 20 at the Logan County Cooperative Extension office, 255 John Paul Road, Russellville. There will be a field site visit to the Henry Duncan farm.

The central region course is Aug. 10 at the Washington County Cooperative Extension office, 245 Corporate Drive, Springfield, with a field visit to Danielle and Jason Hagler’s farm.

In the east region, the Aug. 24 course will take place at the Clay County Cooperative Extension EXCEL Center, 86 Muddy Gap Road, Manchester. The Jimmie Sizemore farm will be the site for the field visit.

For a detailed listing of topics at each location and to register, visit the short course website at http://forestry.ca.uky.edu/wosc. Registration is also available by phoning 859-257-7597. When preregistering, sessions are $20 for individuals and $30 for couples. The day of the program, sessions are $30 for individuals and $40 for couples.

The 2019 Woodland Owners Short Course is a partnership between the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, UK Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Kentucky State University, Kentucky Tree Farm Committee, Kentucky Woodland Owners Association, National Woodland Owners Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Forest Industries Association, the Kentucky Chapter of the Association of Consulting Foresters of America Inc., Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Merrick Printing and Clay, Logan and Washington County Cooperative Extension offices.