By Rebecca Feldhaus/KPR
Murray, KY – Forest health has been identified as the number one issue facing Kentucky's wooded landscapes, according to a new report from the state Division of Forestry. Stewart West works with the stewardship program. He explains the steps.
"One was the assessment of the current conditions that exist in the state of Kentucky today regarding our forest resources. And then we looked at potential priority areas to get the work done more in a targeted fashion. The third step of the process was actually developing the strategies to implement actions in the future."
West says based on results of an online public survey, nearly two thousand respondents named forest health, water quality, forest fragmentation and funding and forest management as major issues of concern. Kentucky will use the federally-mandated assessment as its forest strategy guide over the next five years.