Doug McLaren, KWOA President, is featured guest on May 18 From The Woods Today webcast
Now in his fourth year as president of KWOA, Doug McLaren presents the broad scope of how the association partners with private and public natural resources and forestry entities to inform and enable woodland owners in the many aspects of managing their properties. McLaren’s preference for a hands-on approach is evident in his suggestion that “trees have stories to tell’ about past historical use of the land, natural events, and migratory and permanent users of forests - some welcome and some not by landowners. Enjoy Doug’s lively webcast about what KWOA is and does and how you can access its website, quarterly newsletter and monthly email blast and more at: https://youtu.be/tlUToZZK_gE . Dr. Jim Corum of Stoney Fork received the Herman Bagganstoss Recognition Award, “… for an individual’s contributions to forestry beyond the demands of their regular employment” at the Kentucky-Tennessee Society of American Foresters winter meeting. Corum has continued five generations of woodland ownership and management in southeast Kentucky on the family property focusing on multi-resource planning of high-quality timber, protection of water quality and wildlife habitat. He has been a long-time KWOA board member.
Submitted by Karen Marshall, newsletter editor
The UK Wildcats did not survive March Madness for their NCAA championship bid. But woodlands-related legislation passed smoothly through the 2022 Kentucky legislative session. Initially conceived by Dr. Jim Corum, KWOA Director at Large (Harlan County), House Joint Resolution 41 has been 20 years in the making. HJR 41 directs the Department of Revenue and the University of Kentucky's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to recommend equitable property tax assessment procedures for well-managed forests. The resolution was introduced to the legislature by Representative Adam Bowling, District 87 (Bell and Harlan counties). We are thrilled that Governor Beshear signed HJR 41 on April 8, 2022. Thank you to all who contacted their legislators and to the legislators who supported this measure. KWOA will do our best to keep you posted as the process continues. The goal is to support sustainably managed forestry practices and provide some tax relief to owners who steward their properties accordingly.
HJR passed both houses of the legislature and went to Governor Beshear for signature on March 31, 2022! Thank you to all who called and all who supported this resolution through the process.
HJR41 (Bowling) Directs the Department of Revenue and the University of Kentucky's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to submit a report to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2022, detailing their recommendations for equitable property tax assessment procedures for well-managed forests. See background information posted below. House Joint Resolution (HJR) 41 passed the in House on March 11, 2022. It is now in the Senate - see "ACT" on item below We thank partners at KCC and KFIA for helping us track the progress of this measure through the legislature.
Summary Recent Background: HJR 41 was originally in the Committee on Committees and it moved to the Agricultural Committee during the week of March 7, 2022. As of March 11 it has been posted for passage in the House. KWOA Director, Jim Corum has championed this movement for a good 20 years and we are thrilled to see it moving forward. The goal is to achieve equitable taxation for well-managed forests in KY. We thank our partners at KFIA & KCC for helping us track the progress on this legislation. HJR 41 is A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Department of Revenue and the University of Kentucky's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to recommend equitable property tax assessment procedures for well-managed forests. KWOA Director, Jim Corum, has taken the initiative to work on this issue for many years and KWOA has been very supportive. Representative Adam Bowling has introduced HJR 41; you can read the resolution at https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/22rs/hjr41.html. We are thrilled that it is finally moving forward and we ENCOURAGE our supporters to contact their representative asking them to co-sponsor this resolution. You can ask "The Committee on Committees" to move this resolution along /get it out of committee and onto the floor. Find your representative at https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators/house-of-representatives
Check out this easy way to contact your legislator: Leave a message: 1-800-372-7181. Operators accept a message that you dictate, no questions asked, from 7 am to 9 pm ET Monday to Thursday, and 7 am to 6 pm ET Friday, during sessions. You can leave a message for only one legislator, a list of legislators, all members of a committee you name, or all members of the House and/or Senate. Nominations sought for 2022:
Kentucky Delivered Log Price Report (3rd and 4th Qtrs. - 2021) contains "price average" regarding the log grade and can be found at the Kentucky Division of Forestry website link: Resource Utilization and Marketing - Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. You can also download the PDF shown below. ![]()
USDA Forest Service recently published the “Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2021 Tax Year” by Yanshu Li, Tamara L. Cushing, and Gregory E. Frey. Some of you may be familiar this with from previous versions. You can download the publication at https://go.usa.gov/xtreq or see PDF below. You may also want to attend the FORESTRY TAXATION WEBINARS Jan.18-Feb. 15! See the program and registration on our Events Page here. |