"...until you tell them it will impact their bourbon"

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If you're not already concerned about the global decline of white oak forests, you should be — especially if you're a bourbon drinker.

While oaks provide habitat, food, and shelter for many species, they're also the cornerstone for aging bourbon. By law, bourbon must be aged in new, charred American oak barrels. Most distilleries use white oak for its strength, flavor profile, and the rich color it creates.

Brown-Forman, the parent company to Jack Daniel's, is fighting to save white oaks through DendriFund, a nonprofit seed fund that advocates federal policies to protect and manage oak forests through joint action.

According to an article on Trellis, formerly GreenBiz, oak tree reduction has been recorded in 39 countries, and 31% of the 430 known oak species are on the verge of extinction. Invasive species, drought, fires, and soil compaction are primarily to blame.

While there hasn't been much action or acknowledgment from policymakers, the bourbon industry recognized the potential threat as far back as 1998, understanding that without oak trees, they'd have no product.