Logging Begins in Old-Growth Forest Containing Kentucky State Champion Tree

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Logging Begins in Old-Growth Forest Containing Kentucky State Champion Tree

Clay County, Kentucky (June 16, 2026) — The U.S. Forest Service has begun active logging operations in the Little Flat Creek area of the Daniel Boone National Forest, despite ongoing litigation challenging the project. 

The area is home to Kentucky’s state champion red hickory tree, as well as some of the last remaining mature and old-growth forests, which make up less than 1% of forests in the state. Tree core samples from the site document trees dating back to the early 1700s.

Following years of advocacy and litigation by Kentucky Heartwood and supporters, a 100-meter protective buffer was established around the state champion red hickory. However, a very large northern red oak located within the protected area remains marked for cutting.

“While we are grateful the state champion red hickory will be spared, the surrounding old-growth forest is going to be logged for timber,” said Dr. Kelly Watson, staff ecologist for Kentucky Heartwood. “Some of these trees are more than 250 years old. Once they are cut, they are gone forever.”

The logging is being conducted through a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Ruffed Grouse Society as part of an effort to create young forest habitat for game birds. Kentucky Heartwood supports wildlife conservation, but questions why some of the oldest forests in the region are being targeted when younger forests are available elsewhere on the Daniel Boone National Forest.

The Little Flat Creek area lies adjacent to the Red Bird Crest Trail, where hikers have long been able to enjoy large trees, mature forest conditions, and a landscape increasingly uncommon in eastern Kentucky. The area also provides critical habitat for wildlife documented through ongoing monitoring efforts, including bobcats and imperilled bat species. 

Kentucky Heartwood also continues to express concern about the construction of more than two miles of road into steep mountain terrain associated with the project. Previous logging projects in the region have raised questions regarding slope stability, landslide risk, and impaired stream quality. 

“These trees are on public land,” Watson said. “We have the responsibility to manage and protect our waterways, our communities, and to ensure future generations will have more than just photographs and memories of what once stood here.” 

Kentucky Heartwood is encouraging concerned citizens to respectfully contact the forest’s District Ranger (robert.claybrook@usda.gov), the Ruffed Grouse Society (info@ruffedgrousesociety.org), and elected officials to request an immediate review of logging activities in the Little Flat Creek area and to protect the remaining old-growth forest in the Daniel Boone National Forest. 

For more information contact:
info@kyheartwood.org

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