Kentucky

The Kentucky Division of Forestry provides forest health protection assistance to state and private land managers within the State.  The State and the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection unit fund this program cooperatively.

Kentucky Forest Facts

Almost 1/2 of the entire state of Kentucky is forested (more than 12.6 million acres).

  Kentucky’s tree species diversity rivals that of the whole European continent.

Over 90% of forested acreage in Kentucky is privately owned. Small landowners comprise the largest group.

The Daniel Boone National Forest (698,900 acres) provides recreational and wildlife benefits as well as forest products and jobs for thousands of people.

Oak decline is impacting timber and recreation in Kentucky.  Oak decline results in dieback and mortality of the larger mature oaks.  Factors such as drought, frost, insect defoliation, and secondary agents such as root disease and wood boring insects all contribute to the disease. 

Gypsy moth, a serious pest of hardwood forests, threatens Kentucky from the north and east.  The Kentucky Division of Forestry and USDA Forest Service work closely to monitor and quickly respond to outbreaks of the moth through a statewide early warning network of survey traps. 

Dogwood anthracnose has struck over a 61 county area in the state.  Damage is most severe in the forest environment at higher elevations and in cool moist areas in the lower elevations.

In 2000, the Kentucky Division of Forestry in cooperation with USDA Forest Service Research and Forest Health Protection will participate in the Forest Health Monitoring Program.  This program is designed to annually collect, analyze, interpret, and report on the conditions of the forests in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry and
USDA Forest Service

In spite of the relatively good health of Kentucky’s forests, a variety of insects and diseases (both native and introduced), and human-caused impacts such as air pollution, continue to threaten the State’s resources.  To deal with this constantly changing mix of challenges, the Division of Forestry and the Forest Health Protection unit of the USDA Forest Service cooperate to prevent, detect, suppress and manage this multitude of threats.  The partnership between the two agencies has worked for three decades to maintain and improve the health of Kentucky’s forests. 

Forest Health Protection contributions (dollars) to the Kentucky Division of Forestry Cooperative Forest Health program, 1997-2000.

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