This event will provide 2 Continuing Education Credits through the Society of American Foresters and The Wildlife Society.

-  Land-use History of Upland Oak Forests of the Central Hardwood Region

11:20 – 11:50 AM: The Birds and the Bees: Songbird and Pollinator Responses to Oak Regeneration in the Central Appalachian Mountains

Dr. D.J. McNeil, University of Wilmington-NC

NOON – 12:30 PM: Ecology and Silviculture of Upland Oak Forests

Dr. Daniel Dey, United States Forest Service

12:30 – 12:50 PM: A Practical Strategy for Managing Oak Forests

Chris Will, Central Kentucky Forest Management

Throughout history oak forests have been appreciated for their enormous ecological, economic, and social value. These benefits are widely acknowledged by foresters, wildlife biologists, hunters,      conservationists, and landowners, but successfully managing oak forests is no easy task. It requires knowledge, forethought, and patience.

Due to land-use history, fire suppression, and poor forest management - or lack thereof - we are gradually losing our oak forests throughout the Central Hardwood Region and Eastern United States. In this webinar, we will take the “Long View” by looking back in time to see how human history has influenced the oak forests we have today.

This historical grounding will allow us to look forward and consider how our actions today can ensure we restore and sustain oak forests into the future. To do this, we must first gain a comprehensive understanding of the history of our oak forests in the Central Hardwood Region and learn about their widespread value to people, deer, grouse, songbirds, and pollinators.

We will then look more closely at current research and how these dynamic forests grow and change in the face of natural and human disturbances. Speakers will then share practical examples of far-reaching, thoughtful forest management on family land and how those examples can be replicated to perpetuate our oak forests throughout the Central Hardwood Region and Eastern United States.

The Long View: Sustaining Our Oak Forests