Community Wealth from Healthy Rivers and Forests

A Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network Project

The Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN) is advancing its work across 26 counties in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia through the Community Wealth from Healthy Rivers and Forests project. Funded by the USDA Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act, with additional support from the Center for Heirs’ Property, this initiative helps unlock the economic and ecological value of Central Appalachia’s forests, rivers, and communities.

By centering community leadership and deep local knowledge, the project promotes regenerative forestry and agroforestry, ecosystem restoration, and economic resilience. Our aim is to support landowners, gatherers, hunters, and anglers in stewarding their lands while creating generational wealth and sustainable livelihoods.

The project focuses on a broad approach to improving local livelihoods and ecosystems, encompassing:

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) like medicinal and edible forest plants and fungi
Ecosystem services and conservation
Recreation and tourism
Sustainable forestry and land management

With partners on the ground and regional expertise in agroforestry, ecology, and law, LiKEN is bridging critical gaps in access to funding, markets, and support systems that have historically excluded Central Appalachia.

Appalachian agroforestry is a sleeping giant. The natural resources, cultural traditions, and knowledge are in place, but communities need access to essential support systems and markets to awaken their economic potential.

- Betsy Taylor, Executive Director, LiKEN Knowledge

What We’re Doing

The project works directly with residents, landowners, and community groups to:

Clear tangled land titles through legal services and partnerships with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and the Center for Heirs’ Property.
Connect landowners with cost-share and other state and federal assistive programs through direct consultation, and on-the-ground events like Farm Number Registration Clinics and FSA/NRCS workshops.
Build capacity for economic development by offering technical assistance and training to achieve better forest management, increased value for timber and non-timber resources as well as recreational opportunities, and connections to markets for forest-based businesses.
Document and amplify local knowledge by listening to hunters, gatherers, forest workers, and water stewards who understand the land and watersheds.
Support youth and families with environmental education, outdoor learning, and fun, community-rooted activities.

Counties Served

We’re working in 26 counties across two major watersheds:

Kentucky River Watershed (KY):
- Letcher, Leslie, Perry, Clay, Owsley, Breathitt, Knott, Wolfe, Lee, Estill, Powell, Garrard, Madison, Clark, Harlan, Knox, Jackson, Rockcastle, Lincoln, Menifee
Big Sandy Watershed (KY & WV):
- Pike, Martin, Lawrence, Floyd, Johnson (KY); McDowell, Mingo, Wayne (WV)

The benefits of a regenerated native forest multiply over time. Healthy forests and rivers help prevent floods, fight fires, sequester carbon, and clean water.

-Deborah Thompson, Impact Director, LiKEN Knowledge

Our Partners

This project is made possible through close collaboration with:

Kentucky Riverkeeper and Friends of the Tug Fork River – leading community outreach, events, and recruitment
Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center – providing legal aid for landowners
Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation – supporting title clearing and land use rights

Together, we are co-designing solutions with the people who know these places best.

Farm Number Registration Clinics

To access many conservation and agroforestry programs, landowners need a Farm Serial Number (FSN) from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). But in rural areas without USDA offices, this can be a major barrier.

Our Farm Number Clinics bring FSA representatives to underserved counties and help landowners complete the necessary paperwork. We assist with:

Accessing deeds and property valuation documents
Completing the AD-2047 form
Understanding what qualifies your land, even if you don’t consider yourself a farmer
Helping connect you to the program that is best suited to your goals for your land

Find upcoming clinics and RSVP on our Events page.

Ongoing Work & What’s Ahead

We’ve already hosted multiple forest workshops and clinics, supported flood recovery efforts, and built strong relationships with landowners and partners across the region. This momentum continues to grow as we:

Launch more workshops on forest farming, value-added product development, wildlife management, and riparian buffers
Recruit and assist landowners interested in forest-based enterprises, from pawpaw groves and tree syrups to carbon credit sales
Document forest and watershed values for communities in our service area

This initiative connects local leadership with technical experts, stakeholders, and emerging markets to create local livelihoods. Together we can bridge generations and nurture the places we love, co-creating spaces for recreation, meaning, beauty, and community.

-Mary Hufford, Director, Stories of Place Program, LiKEN Knowledge

Join Us

Whether you’re a landowner, a gatherer, a storyteller, or just someone who loves the forests and rivers of Central Appalachia, there’s a place for you in this work.