As the current white oak population ages over the next 50 years, there’s not a sustainable source of new seedlings to supply the unprecedented demand from bourbon production and other timber-related industries. As a result, scientists are working to replicate select white oaks with “superior genetics.”
Each year, members of the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s wildland firefighter team volunteer to fight fires in various parts of the U.S., outside of Kentucky’s fire seasons, when wildfires overwhelm local resources. Recently, 23 firefighters deployed to Texas to assist with wildfire suppression.
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a new and concerning malady that has thrown Kentucky’s Forest Health a double-punch: the impact of late-season hard freeze on trees and vegetation. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Forestry has been monitoring the damage, and it appears to be statewide in scope.
