The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is giving $1.3 million to several nonprofits and a Tennessee state agency to restore habitat on the Cumberland Plateau.
“The grants will engage more than 1,400 private landowners through outreach and assistance and will be matched to bring the total to $2.6 million. The groups will largely work with landowners of large properties to teach proper land management skills,” Mark Pace reports for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Jay Jensen, the foundation's southern regional office director, said, "From our standpoint, for that whole region, the Cumberland Plateau is one amazing place for wildlife.”
The foundation's annual Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund works to “restore, enhance and protect shortleaf pine and riparian forests and in-stream habitats in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.” Riparian refers to forested or woodland areas adjacent to a body of water such as a stream, river or pond.
The projects covered by the grants will focus on the plateau’s shortleaf pine and oak stands. “Their ecosystems have dwindled due to forest conversion, a lack of prescribed fire, disease and pest infestation. That loss converted much of the land to heavily forested area and contributed to the decline of bird species such as Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch and prairie warbler,” the Times Free Press reported.
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern portion of the Appalachian Plateaus and includes most of Eastern Kentucky (where it is more eroded, making it more mountainous), much of East Tennessee and parts of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia.
In a separate conservation project, the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund has acquired 2,040 forested acres to provide “hiking, birding and other passive recreation opportunities, as well as conserve a habitat for rare species, including the federally listed Northern long-eared bat and several state-listed plants,” the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet announced.
The acreage is part of the Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail in Bell County and provides the closest access from Pineville, where the Cumberland River cuts through Pine Mountain, on the western edge of the Ridge and Valley Belt of the Appalachian Mountains, just east of the plateaus.
“Pine Mountain is truly one of Kentucky’s natural treasures, and the Pine Mountain Trail plays an important role in helping folks experience and enjoy the mountain,” Zeb Weese, KHLCF chairman and executive director of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, said in a news release.
“The grants will engage more than 1,400 private landowners through outreach and assistance and will be matched to bring the total to $2.6 million. The groups will largely work with landowners of large properties to teach proper land management skills,” Mark Pace reports for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
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Image from Flickr.com; click on it to enlarge
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The foundation's annual Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund works to “restore, enhance and protect shortleaf pine and riparian forests and in-stream habitats in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.” Riparian refers to forested or woodland areas adjacent to a body of water such as a stream, river or pond.
The projects covered by the grants will focus on the plateau’s shortleaf pine and oak stands. “Their ecosystems have dwindled due to forest conversion, a lack of prescribed fire, disease and pest infestation. That loss converted much of the land to heavily forested area and contributed to the decline of bird species such as Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch and prairie warbler,” the Times Free Press reported.
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| Appalachian plateaus (ImusGeographics.com) |
In a separate conservation project, the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund has acquired 2,040 forested acres to provide “hiking, birding and other passive recreation opportunities, as well as conserve a habitat for rare species, including the federally listed Northern long-eared bat and several state-listed plants,” the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet announced.
The acreage is part of the Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail in Bell County and provides the closest access from Pineville, where the Cumberland River cuts through Pine Mountain, on the western edge of the Ridge and Valley Belt of the Appalachian Mountains, just east of the plateaus.
“Pine Mountain is truly one of Kentucky’s natural treasures, and the Pine Mountain Trail plays an important role in helping folks experience and enjoy the mountain,” Zeb Weese, KHLCF chairman and executive director of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, said in a news release.
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