As rural areas of Kansas become more developed with homes, business and commercial properties, firefighters face new challenges to defend lives and property from wildfire.

Members of the Kansas Forest Service Wildland Fire Management Program bring years of first-hand experience suppressing wildfires that threaten lives and property in wildland urban interface areas. In this episode of the Kansas Forest Service Podcast, three members of the program discuss the expansion WUI across Kansas and how it has changed wildfire suppression tactics.

They also offer advice for homeowners to prepare your homes for wildfire.

Learn more about the KFS Wilandland Fire Management Program at kansasforests.org/fire_management/.

Find guides and advance to prepare your home for wildfire kansasforests.org/fire_management/fireprevention.html.

This episode was originally published May 12, 2020 and was re-published on a new platform in 2022.

When you work for the Kansas Forest Service in state that is known for wide open prairies, you get used to people saying – wait, you have trees in Kansas? Yeah, we have trees, but there is much more to the agency than trees. Kansas Forest Service staff are the roots that support the agency and provide service to all Kansans. In the first ever episode of the Kansas Forest Service Podcast, members of the staff explore the relevance of public service in their lives and how it relates to their passion for forestry and conservation. Learn more at KansasForests.org.

This episode was originally published April 14, 2020 and was re-published on a new platform in 2022.

Managing your forestry resources can be a full-time job. Thankfully, forestry contractors like Luke Terry and Ryan Neises are availble for hire so you don't spend all your free time working in the woodlands you'd rather be enjoying. Listen in as Luke and Ryan explain the many ways forestry contractors in Kansas are available to assist with resource management and what motivated them to work in foretry in Kansas.

District Forester Chris Mullins advises that the peak of fruit harvesting in Kansas is well underway by mid to late July – which means now is the time to harvest! Chris has been out gathering native sandhill plum with a local landowner to gather seed for the KFS conservation seedling program. Gathering local seed sources is an essential part of offering a genetic variety of plants that can tolerate harsh Kansas weather conditions.

When he isn’t assisting with seed collection, Chris provides guidance and assistance to landowners in south central Kansas on timber stand improvement, windbreaks, pollinator pockets, wildlife habitat, and many other topics!

Born-and-raised near Hutchinson, Kansas, Chris’ favorite tree and fruit comes from red mulberry. The fruit and leaves from the tree are high in protein. Red mulberry can also grow in many places where other high-value trees would not be likely to survive. Mulberries have long production season as well, with fruit often on the tress through August.

Chris spent time harvesting apricots earlier in the season as well but advises that they are highly susceptible to late frost damage. Blackberries are also in abundance this time of year. But forager be warned, the “cat like” thorns are likely to result in many cuts and scrapes.

Moving into the fall, persimmons will ripen in late fall – October and even into November. The unique flavor is nutty and favorite of deer (and bow hunters).

Paw paws are likely to be ripe or close to it in northeast Kansas along with fragrant sumac and rose hips.

Before heading to harvest, have a plan and recipe in mind. Knowing what you want to do with the fruit you harvest leaves fewer opportunities to waste the fruit. Base your harvest based on availability of fruit. In a good year, up to two-thirds of the fruit could be gathered without having negative impacts for the wildlife and insects that rely heavily on wild fruits for their diets.

Always ask for permission before harvesting on private land. There are also opportunities to harvest on public land – both at state parks and federal reservoirs. Always check with the managing office for local rules and regulations on harvesting from public lands.

Karen Blakeslee, extension associate with K-State Research and Extension, manages the Rapid Response Center and is one of the co-directors for the Value Added Food Lab. She has many years of experience on safe food preservation. She is a self-described “extension agent for extension agents” specializing in food safety.

She offers sage advice on how to safely preserve fruits and vegetables both wild and raised. As more and more people turn to home preservation, Karen warns that here has been a shortage of required preservation supplies and safe preservation knowledge for people new to the task. There is no shortage of misinformation online – be sure to always use recipes from a reputable resource like Research and Extension or the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

https://www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/index.html

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/food-nutrition/jams-and-jellies-from-native-wild-fruits/fn-1423-jams-and-jellies-from-native-wild-fruits.pdf

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/lawns-gardens-trees/the-windbreak-cookbook-featuring-fruits-of-prairie-forests/f1839.pdf

One pro tip Karen offers is to freeze fresh fruits individually on a cookie sheet before bagging for storage in the freezer. This will keep the fruit from turning into a single blob of frozen fruit.

Ryan Rastok is the Rural Forester for District 1 in northeast Kansas. In his role as a District Forester, Ryan serves landowners in seven counties - lending technical service and guidance on how to manage their rural forests. 

In his district, Ryan works with a variety of landowners that have a variety of goals for their property. 

Ryan was drawn to forestry through his education as a forest entomologist and working as an arborist through college. He now combines his passion for entomology and forestry in his everyday work.

Wildlife management and recreation are the most prevalent topics Ryan assists landowners with – often working closely with biologists from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Timber stand improvement is one of the most common practices implemented to improve habitat by improving creating a disturbance in the forest to create a desired affect – generally more space for oak, hickory and other desirable species to thrive.

Through his time with Kansas Forest Service, Ryan has experienced an evolution in satisfaction for his working. He finds the greatest satisfaction by working with dedicated landowners that have a mindset and philosophy for doing conservation work for the love of it.

While the greatest satisfaction for Ryan comes from building relationships with those dedicated landowners, the demands for his time from hundreds of landowners in his district often means that he isn’t able to revisit the individuals implementing conservation practices.

Implementing conservation practices can be complicated by implementing cost-share programs. A heavy paperwork load and a specific set of practices can be difficult to navigate. But Ryan works with landowners to help them understand the process and practices.

Many landowners Ryan works with in his district are retired. He often hears how those landowners lament about days when they had more strength and energy for project they would like to implement on the property. They continue to push on and have a future mindset for the generations to come.

He advises landowners, both old and young, to meditate on the concept of patience and to not take on more than they can.

As a forest entomologist at heart, Ryan would like to remind everyone to not move firewood! It is the simplest way to prevent the spread of emerald ash borer and other invasive and highly damaging pests.

After our conversation, we did a little research and discovered that there is indeed a mascot for not moving firewood. It is a truly terrifying mascot that will make you think twice before you head out with that pickup load of wood: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/meet-vin-vasive

You can even get a do-it-yourself mask to scare the neighborhood children: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/hungrypests/partner-tools/VinVasiveMask.pdf

To contact Ryan, feel free to email him at: [email protected]
Please be patient as it may take a few days to get a response!

Visit https://www.kansasforests.org/kansas_forest_services/district_offices/index.html and use the interactive map to find your District Forester.

Tom Hogard's passion for woodworking began in junior high school when he opted to take woodshop. Over the years, he discovered that using salvaged logs or milling his own lumber provided some cost savings for his wooodworking projects. 

Today, Tom owns and operates his own portable sawmill serving northeast Kansas through salvaging logs that might otherwise end up at the landfill or in a firewood stack. Tom also helps other forestland owners by serving as the President of the Kansas Forestry Association.

Learn more about the milling industry in Kansas and Tom and Dave Bruton, KFS Utilization and Marketing Forester, discuss lumber prices, the importance of native lumber, and how landowners and woodworkers can get involved in forestry in Kansas.

Learn more about Tom and his business, Tom the Sawyer, at https://www.tomthesawyer.net/ 
https://www.facebook.com/TomTheSawyerPortableSawmill 

Kansas Forestry Association
https://www.ksforestryassociation.org/ 

Kansas Forest Service list of sawmills
https://www.kansasforests.org/forest_products/ 
 

Community Forester Kim Bomberger was celebrating Arbor Day before it was cool. Today, she helps communities and individuals connect to and protect their community forests.

On this episode of the Kansas Forest Service Podcast, Kim dives into the history of Arbor Day in Kansas - suggesting ideas for how we can celebrate in a pandemic world that hasn't returned to normal.

Ag and Natural Resources Extension Agent Chuck Otte was inspired by his family to serve others. They also fostered a fascination with the natural world around him.

Today, Chuck inspires and connects those around him by providing expert advice on land management, farming, gardening, livestock health, and bird watching, just to name a few. 

On this episode of the Kansas Forest Service podcast, Dr. Barden explains the different types of Kansas woodlands. Dr. Charlie Barden is a Professor of Forestry and Extension Forester at Kansas State University. He dedicates his time and research to solving environmental problems with trees. 

 His research provides valuable knowledge to Kansans through a network of K-State Research and Extension Agents located in counties across Kansas.

The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has many of us searching for ways to bring more joy to our lives as we distance ourselves from friends and family this holiday season. Phil Wegman and Amy Grelinger with the Kansas Christmas Tree Growers Association, share how their members are taking every precaution to ensure your family can safely visit and cut a fresh, Kansas tree this year. A tree that is seven to eight years in the making! 

Find a Christmas tree farm near you: http://kctga.com/kctga_website_temp_037.htm