Kentucky's Forest Action Plan
The 2020 Forest Action Plan provides the public,
forest managers, and policy makers with detailed information about the status
of Kentucky’s forestlands. The information contained within this document will continue to help guide
future decisions on the best course of actions necessary
to ensure that Kentucky’s renewable forest resource is available for
future generations.
The Division of Forestry solicited public and stakeholder input to verify the established issues, and to identify other concerns, threats, and opportunities for Kentucky’s collective forest resources. Input gathered from this input was incorporated into a Comprehensive Strategy for Forest Resource Sustainability (2010) and updated in 2020. The Kentucky Forest Action Plan 2020 leads the division into the next decade, spanning public and private forestlands, and urban and rural areas. The result of that effort will ultimately ensure that resources are being focused on important landscape areas with the greatest opportunity to address shared management priorities and achieve meaningful outcomes.
Section 1 - Statewide Assessment
Identifies landscape areas where national, regional and state resource issues and priorities converge. It incorporates the best data available, stakeholder input and other state plans and reports. The assessment is a valuable document for communicating forest-related issues, threats and opportunities in Kentucky. Top five issues derived from public comments:
Section 2 - Forest Priority Areas
Identifies the most important regions for particular forest issues and the strategies that address these and focuses implementation efforts towards areas where the need is the greatest.
Section 3 - Forest Resource Strategy
Includes long-term strategies to address threats to forest resources in Kentucky. It contains the prioritized strategies and action steps that the Division of Forestry, partners, land managers and conservationists can implement to maintain or improve the biological diversity in Kentucky’s forests.
Forest Legacy Program Assessment of Need