A Keeping it in the Family Sustainable Forestry Meeting is set for 5:30 p.m., Monday, June 26, at the Little River County Training School at Ashdown.
Joe Friend, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff forester, and Shane Booth, a forester with the Arkansas Forestry Commission, will be among the presenters discussing programs available through the KIITF project.
The Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention program is part of the KIITF forest conservation model. The project is a collaboration of federal, state, local, private and community-based organizations to help keep private forestlands in families, according to a news release.
“In 1920, African American farmers owned 15.6 million acres of farm land nationally,” said Henry English, director of the Small Farm Program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. “By 2012, the acreage had shrunk to only 4.6 million acres.”
The June 26 event is a dinner meeting. Pre-registration is requested. People with special needs or who wish to be included in the meal count, should contact Kandi Williams, Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention (SFLR) outreach coordinator, at 903-306-8663 or klwilliams4@yahoo.com.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all of its Extension and Research programs and services without discrimination.