

Dave Cooper Interview: White Oaks & Bourbon
Heartwood Forest Protection Podcast by members of Heartwood and the forest protection movement
S1 · E8
Jul 8, 2026
38:07
Episode notes
In this interview, Dave weaves together the story of white oak trees, the Kentucky bourbon boom, and his personal discovery of how a tourist industry he thought was good for the economy of his state is actually an enormous problem for white oak forests.
To book Dave's Bourbon Barrel Roadshow, email davecooper928@yahoo.com, or call 859-447-6534 for more information.
Resources mentioned during the interview:
- White Oak Initiative - An coalition of groups including industry leaders, private landowners, academic institutions, and government agencies, working together for the long term sustainability of America's white oak dominant forests.
- Finding The Mother Tree - A book which helps us understand that forests are a complicated, interdependent circle of life, connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own.
Keywords
Heartwood
Forest Protection
Dave Cooper
White Oak Initiative
Bourbon Barrel Roadshow
What place this episode is about
State