Renewing Forest Land
"The forest is like our community, always changing."
Darlene Lewis's fourth grade class, Sandy Hook Elementary.
These are the words of students from Kentucky. Listen as they teach us about one of our most precious renewable resources.
"Forests affect how we live and provide many things we use. So it is important to take care of them, understand what they give us and use them wisely."
We can take care of our forests for many different reasons including providing timber, recreation, water and a home for wildlife. To decide on how we want to take care of our forests, we need to think about how we want our forests to look like in the future. Do we want income from the forest, hiking trails, wildlife or something else? With a good forest plan we can have many choices. In a lot of ways, caring for our forests is like raising our children.
The attention we give them will determine their outcome. Your choices and decisions have an impact on the future of your forest. Decisions when harvesting your timber will effect how your future forest will be and effect Kentucky's forest resources. So, when you decide to sell your timber, remember it is up to you to think about how you want your forest to be in the future. What is important to you?
Decide how you want to sell your timber. Your local county extension agent can help you locate a forester who can help you do this. Get a reference from a logger to find out how well he did on other jobs. Advertise your timber sale widely. After all, if you only get one offer on a timber sale, how do you know if it is a high offer or a low offer? Remember these words from Vickie Writh's 6th grade class at Sandy Hook Elementary school,
"Before I sell my timber, I want to have it written on paper what's going to happen."
Having a contract will protect both you and the logger.
And remember, it is up to you, as the landowner, to make sure the contract is followed. As Robin Griffith's 5th grade class from Sandy Hook Elementary tells us,
" It is up to us to make a decision now as to what our future forest will be."
Your decision as a forest landowner will have an effect on the quality of resources we have in Kentucky. Get involved in the decisions that are made on your forest lands.
For More Information
For additional information, please contact, Craig Infanger.