 Hi, my name is Caitlyn Mann and I work for the Department of Ag Forestry Division. I'm the county ranger for Johnson Pope in Franklin County and I'm here to answer some of your questions about forestry. The first question is, what are some good trees to plant around your house for wildlife? Some of them would be like oaks, they're going to produce an acorn for a variety of species, red mulberry, redbud, and dogwoods, and they're also some of your natives, so those are all going to produce a sort of fruit for a variety of wildlife. Our next question is, can you really tell how old a tree is by counting rings? The answer is yes. You can kind of do it multiple ways. One is by using this tool, the increment border, and so that's why it's still alive. You can put this tool into the tree and then it'll pull out a core and you'll be able to count the rings on that core. You'll count either every dark ring or every light ring from the center of the core, count every dark ring or light ring, and then that'll come up with a number of years for how old this tree is. The next question is, what can I do for my timber tracks health? First thing would be contact your local county forester so they can make a land exam with you and then they can come up with a management plan that's going to have your objectives and recommendations for that track. The next question is, which is better to grow in Arkansas, hardwoods or softwoods? It's going to really all depend on what your objective is. If your objective is wildlife, then you're going to want to target more of a hardwood stand. If it's for timber production, you'd be better off with pine because it's going to be a quicker growing tree than hardwood. A lot of people want to know what is a prescribed burn and why do we do it? One of the biggest things is it's a burn that's being controlled by us. Instead of letting nature take its course, we're able to be able to control that. Another thing is it's very beneficial on a lot of levels for wildlife, just also for the health of your forest. It's going to encourage native grasses and vegetation to get established. It's going to control some of your saplings and keeping that stand thinned down. Our next question is, what are some ways to get some crews to come in on small tracks for clearings or cuttings? One of your best ways is contact your local county forester and they can get you in contact with some smaller track. Logging crews as well as they can get you in contact with some of the cost share programs that either our department or NRCS offers that will help with small tracks. The next question is, how do you know when a tree is ready to harvest? One way is by using the increment bore, you can read the number of the rings that's on it and you will know in general of how old the tree is and then knowing if it's up to its age. Another way is always looking up at the tree tops or the canopy. Whenever those tree tops start overlapping and you're not getting much sunlight down, that's a good indication that it's ready to harvest or at least ready to thin out. Next question is, how many 2x4s does an average tree make? It's really hard to define an average tree so we went with a 14 inch. So a 14 inch tree, you can get about 14 boards from a 14 inch pine tree. The next question is, why is lumber so high? That's everybody's thought with forestry. The basic one is just, it's a supply and demand is the reason why. Just to mark it, everybody's wanting lumber. The next question is, what are some ways to keep southern pine beetles or pests out of a track? I like to keep saying, contact your county forester. They're going to be able to help you with a lot of management, getting plans. The biggest thing is they can get you in contact or get you connected with some of their programs like the Southern Pine Beetle Assistance Program, as well as help you with thinning. That's going to be the biggest thing is making sure that timber stand is staying thinned out to keep from getting overstocked, diseases getting in, and other insects. I know some people might wonder what the average age of a forester is for Arkansas. As of 2020, it was 47 years old. So in other words, that means that there's a lot of opportunity out there if you're interested in forestry to get involved and become a forester.