By Charlie Booher
Photo Credit: White Oak Initiative
White oaks (Quercus alba), like most good bourbons, take years to mature. However, white oak groves are disappearing or, more accurately, are not being replaced as these trees are being harvested or dying. In the near-term, stocks will remain available, but we are facing a long-term sustainability problem due to a lack of young trees.
For maintaining healthy forests across the East – and for keeping coopers, distillers and other craftspeople in business – this has become a major issue.
Stands of white oak currently occupy more than 104 million acres – roughly the size of the state of California – of public and private forestland, mostly in the eastern and central U.S. These forests support incredible plant and animal biodiversity, but white oak is also the most commercially important timber oak in the country. Lots of people care about white oak forests for a lot of different reasons. Every year, billions of dollars of timber are purchased and utilized in the furniture, flooring and cabinetry industries, supporting robust rural economies and providing benefits to millions of people. Yet, white oak is perhaps most intimately tied to the crafting of bourbon whiskey.
There are a handful of legal requirements that qualify some whiskeys as bourbons. Bourbon must be crafted in the U.S. and have a grain bill of more than 51% corn (with the remainder being made up of rye, wheat or malted barley – either on its own or in some combination), and it must be aged in a new charred oak barrel for at least two years. White oak is often used to fulfill this legal requirement because its staves have a unique ability to create a durable, waterproof seal, unlike some of the other oaks.
Aging alcohol in charred barrel is a quintessential step in creating many spirits, but what makes bourbon unique is that it isn’t technically bourbon unless the barrel is both new and made of white oak. In a world with an ever-decreasing supply of white oak trees, that’s a big problem. Declining white oak stands are also a problem for more than 500 species of birds, mammals and insects as acorns are often one of the best plant-based fat sources on the landscape. These mast-producing oak forests and savannas are havens for acorn-eating wildlife, like turkeys and grouse.
The life history of these trees requires us to look decades into the future to ensure stocks are in ample supply. Because of how long white oak trees take to mature, today’s seedling crops must be actively managed to ensure upland oak forests are widespread in the decades to come. There is strong demand for high-quality white oak, which must be treated carefully from planting to harvest to maximize value for wildlife and for timber.
Wildlife and bourbon stewards (or snobs) have and will suffer alike without strong populations of these hardwoods, but a few congressmen from Kentucky are hoping to rectify that. The White Oak Resilience Act will jumpstart reforestation efforts on federal and private lands east of the Mississippi, ensuring future generations of grouse and future batches of bourbon have a place to live. U.S. Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Ami Bera (D-CA) introduced this last year to create pilot programs for white oak regeneration and to facilitate private investment in management and reforestation activities.
“The White Oak Resilience Act is not just about saving trees; it’s about preserving our heritage, safeguarding biodiversity, and fortifying an industry that is critical to Kentucky’s economy,” said Congressman Barr in a press release introducing the bill. “The future of the bourbon industry, which relies on the unique characteristics of white oak barrels, and the future of countless ecosystems are intertwined with the sustainability of the white oak.”
However, none of this would be possible without the dedication of the unique coalition of conservationists who are members of the White Oak Initiative. This coalition is made up of a diverse array of partners who are all “committed to the long-term sustainability of America’s white oak forests as well as the economic, social and environmental benefits they provide.” Collaboration – among private and public forest managers, timber buyers, conservation organizations and others – is critical to long-term forest regeneration. This group has conducted a nationwide assessment and crafted a plan with support from U.S. Forest Service Region 8 and 9 Landscape Scale Restoration Grants and participation from 17 state agencies, conservation groups and key public and private partners. That plan calls for a variety of steps to be taken by federal agencies to address this problem, but many of those steps require an act of Congress to be set in motion.
The legislation directly addresses the issues facing white oaks by authorizing the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to actively restore white oak stands through reforestation efforts and creates a white oak restoration fund to ensure private capital can continue to be invested in this important resource.
“While there are plenty of white oak trees out there right now, the data clearly shows that regeneration isn’t happening at the levels we’ve historically seen, and soon this will be a serious problem for everything from the American bourbon industry to native plants and wildlife if we don’t act today,” said Jason Meyer, executive director of the White Oak Initiative in a press release. “Fortunately, this bill proposes much-needed measures to rejuvenate our white oak forests, promoting biodiversity and supporting the hard-working folks who rely on them.”
The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society is dedicated to promoting responsible forest stewardship for our forests, our wildlife and our future. That must include active management throughout the entire lifecycle of the trees on which we depend, especially for those species that require nearly an entire human lifetime to reach maturity.
The next time you raise a glass or hunt a covey of grouse feeding in an oak savanna, take a look around you. It doesn’t take a professional forester to tell whether all the oaks in your neck of the woods are old or young. Give some thought to how you might ensure future generations have the same opportunities that you have had going forward.
