Forest industries have the potential to provide thousands more jobs in Eastern and southern Kentucky as leaders in the region search for ways to improve the economy, according to an analysis.
Expanding the Kentucky forestry sector could provide $1.49 billion in new revenue and nearly 7,500 additional jobs in a 54-county region that includes areas hit hard by a sharp decrease in coal jobs, researchers in the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky concluded. That growth would drive more jobs in other sectors as well, the study said.
The department did the study at the request of participants in the initiative called Shaping Our Appalachian Region, or SOAR. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, a Republican who represents southern and Eastern Kentucky, and Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, started the initiative in late 2013 to look for ways to improve the economy and quality of life in the region.
The report said more than 80 percent of the land in SOAR’s region is forested. Strategic expansion of industries tied to that abundant timber represents “low-hanging fruit” in the search to provide a more sustainable economic base, the study found.
Most of the growth could come from better use of lower-quality timber, which is much more abundant. About two-thirds of the timber in the 54-county region is not considered to be in the top two grades.
From Kentucky.com: https://www.kentucky.com/2015/03/22/3762709_report-expanded-forestry-sector.html?rh=1