Underserved Landowner Outreach - IRA - Every Acre Counts

The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources will coordinate with the Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) to provide technical assistance to natural resource professionals. The outcomes will include the development of the state-wide comprehensive underserved landowner outreach plan, the development of new emerging markets through carbon storage, climate change and miEgaEon, forest resiliency management for the development of financial assistance programs in underserved areas. Partners must uElize socioeconomic data and tools such as the Climate and Economic JusEce Screen Tool (CEJST), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Poverty Area Measures, and US CounEes with conEnuous High Poverty (1960-2019). We will spend the first-year planning and developing their comprehensive underserved landowner plan and submit it before the second year of the grant performance period begins. This plan will outline how KDF will provide targeted outreach and technical assistance programs to underserved landowners along with its partners. As part of the implementaEon plan, KDF will describe their outreach and communicaEons strategies to engage underserved landowners and address barriers to program access. The University of Kentucky - Department of Forestry and Natural Resources will be compleEng an aUer-acEon review on the project. The metrics will be enumerated within the memorandum of agreement. The aUerac Eon review and assessment will provide avenues for underserved landowners and small acreage forest landowners to receive long-term sustainable forestry technical assistance within the federal cost share programs and new emerging markets through carbon storage, climate change and miEgaEon and forest resiliency/management. The University of Kentucky- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources will develop with forestry professionals to incorporate on-the-ground emerging forestry pracEces developed at UK’s Robinson Forest, specifically the AdapEve Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project. This will create vast learning opportuniEes for underserved landowners as well as training for forest pracEEoners to best serve those landowner communiEes.