The Land & Revenues program provides technical services and conducts research to support fair and sustainable land ownership and land-based livelihoods in Appalachia. Through research and community engagement, Land & Revenues seek to provide policymakers and community members with the information they need to make informed decisions. Through collaboration with scholars, attorneys, community organizers, government officials, and community members, Land & Revenues also provides free technical assistance programming in eastern Kentucky. 

The Land & Revenues program has its philisophical roots in the Appalachian Land Ownership Study conducted by the Appalachian Land Ownership Task Force in 1979. The Land Study surveyed property records in 80 Appalachian counties across 5 states: Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Land Study was only able to conduct a research project in such depth and breadth because it applied participatory action research methods. Professional researchers trained dozens of passionate citizens to methodically collect property information at their local courthouse. The trained citizens were more than just researchers, they were experts of their local community and the power structures that initimately regulated livelihoods and directed paths of development. The Land Study was a tremendous achievement because it both empirally proved the deep inequality of Appalachia's land profile and demonstrated the potential for a citizen science model for land ownership research ("no research of us without us!"). 

While LiKEN was not involved in the original Land Study, we are committed to carrying on its legacy. We do this by conducting empirical research on land ownership and use in Central Appalachia and by promoting participatory action research methods. We also recognize that coordinators and researchers of the Land Study  conducted the research and compiled their findings for the express purpose of building a more equitable regional economy. The fight for equity lives on in the various organizations that 'spun-off' the Land Study, including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC), with whom we proudly work alongside as coalition members in the Alliance for Appalachia. Similarily, LiKEN Knowledge seeks to foster a more equitable and localized regional economy by offering free legal and land-use technical assistance to heirs' property owners in eastern Kentucky through our Appalachian Heirs' Property Center (AHPC).

As of 2022, the Land & Revenues team has focused the bulk of their attention on heirs' property in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. As part of this initiative, the Land & Revenues team conducts research projects on the scale and impact of heirs' property as well as the experiences of heirs' property owners and the utility of policy to resolve issues related to heirs' property. The findings of our research directly informs our educational and technical assistance programming. The benefits of our research also extends beyond LiKEN. The Land & Revenues team is perenially engaged in the national discourse on heirs' property as part of our committment to ensuring that Appalachia and Appalachians are not forgotten.

The Land & Revenues program is directed by Kevin Slovinsky. You can book an appointment to speak with Kevin here.