Two area residents were honored Tuesday for their stewardship of forest and land resources during the annual meeting of the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry annually presents the Outstanding Forest Steward Award to a forest landowner for his or her exceptional stewardship accomplishments.

James W. Middleton of Hart County was selected as the 2010 Outstanding Forest Steward. Middleton owns more than 5,000 acres of land with 3,300 acres of woods, and his family has practiced forest management on the property since the 1950s. In 1996, he was certified as a Kentucky Forest Steward after signing up for KDF’s forest stewardship program, which provides free technical advice to landowners.

Over the years, Middleton has implemented numerous forest management practices, including planting more than 500,000 trees, converting more than 600 acres of fescue field into warm-season grasses and completing more than 800 acres of timber stand improvement. Middleton also maintains 5 miles of access roads and trails and is currently restoring cedar glades to protect rare and endangered species. He has hosted numerous field days on his farm and is an active member in the Kentucky Woodland Owners Association, American Chestnut Foundation and the Black Walnut Council.

The agency also named Rodney Givens as an Outstanding Forest Steward finalist. Givens owns and manages a 626-acre farm in Butler County and has conducted forest stewardship activities since 1960.

He has planted more than 40 acres of trees, conducted timber stand improvement activities, planted wildlife food plots and warm-season grasses and maintained several miles of access roads, among other forest stewardship activities.