The University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment has opened registration for the 2025 Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course (WOSC), the state’s flagship workshop for landowners who want to conserve and improve their woodland acreage. 

Beginning June 10 and running through June 26, the Short Course delivers six live weeknight webinars from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Topics range from tree identification and day-to-day woodland management to forest health, wildlife interactions, timber harvesting and ways Natural Resources Conservation Service programs can bolster both woodland vitality and downstream water quality. Every session is recorded, allowing registrants to revisit the material at their convenience.  

“Everyone involved is looking forward to this year’s Short Course,” said Billy Thomas, extension forester with the UK Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. “The online classes tackle the questions woodland owners ask us most often, while the field sessions place them shoulder-to-shoulder with experts who can show practical solutions on the ground.” 

After the webinars are completed, instruction then moves from the screen to the woods during two optional field days, the first on July 19 in Whitley County and the second on Aug. 16 in Pendleton County. Each event features a woodland owner farm tour where attendees can observe hands-on management practices and speak directly with forestry, wildlife and conservation professionals. New for 2025 is a Woodland Owner Resource Extravaganza where participants can meaningfully connect with the organizations and agencies who can directly help them with the stewardship of their own property. 

“Participants go home with clear ideas for their own property and the contact information for professionals who can help them follow through,” Thomas said. “We are always ecstatic when we get to pass along information to help both our state’s woodland owners and ecosystem.” 

Thomas emphasized that the hybrid format works for owners of any experience level. Even if woodland owners cannot attend the field sessions, they can gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and contacts from the online sessions. 

Registration is available at www.KYWOSC.org. An online-only registration costs $10 per person. Adding a field day raises the fee to $30 for an individual or $45 for two members of the same household, which includes lunch and a resource binder. Because space in each field session is limited, early sign-up is encouraged; online-only registrants may upgrade later if places remain.  

Since its inception in 2004, the WOSC has been a collaboration between the UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension in partnership with the Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky Woodland Owners Association, Kentucky Tree Farm Committee, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Association of Consulting Foresters and other conservation groups.  

To learn more about the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, visit https://forestry.ca.uky.edu.  

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Writer: Jordan Strickler, jstrickler@uky.edu                 

The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.