Open to All Woodland Owners
August 1, 2023: 6:00 – 8:00 PM CST
Ohio County Extension Office
1337 Clay Street, Hartford, KY 42347
Free but Reservation Required for meal planning purposes
Reservations Due By July 25
RSVP to Phone:270-298-7441 or Email: ohio.ext@uky.edu

This is the first ever official KWOA Regional Meeting! The concept of KWOA regional meetings (originally put forth by past president, Joe Ball) is to allow woodland owners to come together in focusing on the challenges they face locally.

We think regional meetings can help connect us with the available resources and each other. We hope to attract woodland owners who have not been engaged with KWOA to join KWOA, and continue to meet regionally according to their own schedules and topics of interest.

KWOA is partnering with the Ohio County Extension Office and UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension to host this event.

KWOA members and partners enjoyed being together and taking in the great educational programs. The summer issue of our Kentucky Woodlands Newsletter will provide a brief recap of these programs; but, of course, you learn so much more by being there. Planning is already underway for the 2024 KWOA Annual Meeting.

Carbon Credits were addressed with open-ended discussions. The consensus is that it is too early to tell how this will play out. Only one company is active in Kentucky at this time; we expect more programs to be offered this Fall. In the meantime, we continue to gather information. If you have worked with any of the carbon credit programs, we would love to hear about your experience. You can share your reactions, by emailing info@kwoa.net attention to Jack Rentz.

The Board of Directors Slate was approved at the Annual Business meeting, and the directors elected officers for both KWOA and KWOF. See the new board member listing here.

To help us focus on who and where we are, we put a map up at the annual meeting for attendees to put a sticker on the county(s) where they have woodlands. Based on the information we currently have member woodlands are in 64 of the 120 counties: 80,000 acres (125 square miles) reported across the state from Fulton Co far west (70 acres) to Pike Co far east (88 acres). We have owners residing in 10 states.

When a person joins KWOA they are asked to fill in their woodland county(s) and the number of acres. Alas, many members skip over this section. New KWOA initiatives are being discussed to better serve our members and our mission; having a good count of the counties and acreages we serve can help us plan. We encourage you to share this information if you did not previously do so. We'll make sure to keep you posted as the board works on some new ideas for regional outreach.

We are always happy to hear from our members. Email to info@kwoa.net reaches several directors and a board member will get back to you.

The KWOA & KWOF Boards will meet on the dates shown below, either in person or by zoom. If you are interested in attending please email us at info.kwoa.net prior to the meeting date, so we can send you details on times, location, or zoom connection. All board meetings are open to members and partners.
2023: May 11, August 10, November 9
2024:February 8

 Kentucky Woodland Owners Association 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda
*** All Times Are CDT ***
Monday March 27, 2023
 
1:00PM – 2:30PM Tour of the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery
 
6:00PM – 8:00PM Carbon Credit Panel Discussion:                                 Jacob Muller, UK
                                                                                                                            Jack Rentz, KWOA
                                                                                                                            Jimmy Sizemore, KWOA
                                                                                                                            Harry Pelle, KWOA
 
Tuesday March 28, 2023
 
8:00AM – 9:00AM      Registration at Lake Cumberland Conference Center
9:00AM – 9:45AM       Opening Remarks & Crowd Sourcing*            Doug McLaren, KWOA
9:45AM – 10:15AM       Bird Watching                                                     Laurie Thomas, UK
10:15AM – 10:30AM     Break
10:30AM – 11:00AM     Wildlife Viewing                                                KY Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
11:00AM – 11:30AM      Medicinal &Edible Plants                                  Jennifer Caudill, NRS
11:30AM – 1:00PM        Lunch (Provided)
1:00PM – 1:30PM         Farm Ponds                                                         Marcy Anderson, KDFWR
1:30PM – 2:15PM          Wildernesses Safety & Survival                        Craig Caudill, NRS
2:15PM – 3:00PM         Trail Construction & Maintenance                    Matt Able, USFS
3:00PM – 3:15PM         Break
3:15PM – 3:45PM          Carbon Credit Updates                                     KWOA
4:00PM – 6:00PM       Social Time & Silent Auction
6:30PM – 9:00PM       Banquet
                           6:30-7:30 Dinner
                           7:30-8:00 Keynote Address                                          Jon Schultz, NRCS
                           8:00-8:45 Presentation of Awards                               Doug McLaren, KWOA
                           8:45-9:00 Closing Remarks                                           Doug McLaren, KWOA
 
Wednesday March 29, 2023
 
9:00AM – 9:10AM         Opening Remarks                                              Doug McLaren, KWOA
9:10AM – 9:30AM         What’s Happening in Your Basin                      Brian Storz, KDOW
9:30AM – 9:45AM         Forest Health Update                                        Ellen Crocker, UK
9:45AM – 11:AM             Partners Reports
11:15AM – 12:00PM       KWOA/KWOF Business Meeting**                   Doug McLaren, KWOA
12:00PM                        Meeting Adjourns
 
12:00PM – 2:00PM     Board of Director’s Meeting* *                           Open to All
 *   Sporting Clays had to cancel due to unforeseen post-Covid rescheduling issues 
 ** New Committees Forming - Sign up at registration/info table or talk with any KWOA/F Director

2023 Silent Auction! Reminder to bring  items for the 2023 Silent Auction.  Every year we are surprised by the variety of items that you bring. Besides the ever popular books and hand tools, last year items included an Aldo Leopold bench, fine art prints, spirits, and NCAA tickets! Harry Pelle is the Auction Chair. Do let us  know if you are planning to bring something for the auction: Email hpelle@windstream.net or phone call to (270)465-6587.

For generations the way most woodland owners have received a financial return on their investment has been through timber harvests. As we know, the harvests are generally infrequent, and are subject to market conditions at the time of the harvest. In the meantime, woodland owners have recurring expenses for taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. This creates a significant mismatch in the timing of income and expenses. As indicated below, there are some new programs that should help deal with this timing mismatch.
Because of concerns over climate change there has been an increased interest in programs that will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, and the benefits of trees have become a focus of attention. Programs that provide financial incentives for woodland owners to manage their properties in an environmentally responsible manner will be discussed at the 2023 Kentucky Woodland Owners Association annual meeting in March. Included will be answers to questions like What will I have to do if I participate? and How much will I be Paid?
These programs are new and evolving and in all probability will be different next March from what they are today. If you have participated in any of the carbon credit programs, we would love to hear about your experience. You can share your reactions, by emailing info@kwoa.net attention Jack Rentz.

We hope to see you at the 2023 annual meeting.
Jack Rentz, KWOA Secretary

KWOA 2023 Annual Meeting - Theme Recreation
We will be meeting in person at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park (SRP), one of Kentucky's great recreation focused state parks.  We will explore some options for enhancing recreation activities, from fishing, hunting, birding, trails, hiking, and more in your woodlands. Highlights include:
- Monday Optional Programs: Wolf Creek Fish Hatchery and evening discussion on the latest Carbon Credits options.
- Tuesday Official Meeting Begins: Michaela Garske, the 2021 recipient of the KWOF’s Kentucky Forest Leadership Scholarship, will make a presentation during the formal meeting time.
We will keep you updated via the Wood Post, and you can always check back here for updates.

The KWOA & KWOF Boards will meet on the dates shown below, either in person or by zoom. If you are interested in attending please email us at info.kwoa.net prior to the meeting date, so we can send you details on times, location, or zoom connection. All board meetings are open to members and partners.

2022: May 12, August 11, November 10
2023: February 9

The annual meeting 2023, will conclude with board meetings for both organizations.