230 Acres Preserved Along the Ohio River

Second KARF Purchase will Secure and Restore Floodplain Wetlands

KWA recently helped facilitate the second land acquisition purchased under the Kentucky Aquatic Resource Fund (KARF). KARF is a groundbreaking partnership between US Fish & Wildlife Services and KWA to administer funds aimed at supporting projects that protect and conserve aquatic resources across the state.

The second purchase will be a multi-partner effort to secure and restore floodplain wetlands along the Ohio River in Livingston County.
 
The 230-acre agricultural farm will be used for wetland restoration purposes. The site is already home to existing high-quality wetlands with large overcup oak and cherrybark oak trees – both of which will be preserved.

“We are excited by the conservation and restoration opportunities presented by KARF. Floodplain wetlands are crucial to health of the Ohio River and we are proud to be a part of this project,” said Judy Petersen, Kentucky Waterways Alliance executive director.

The property was acquired by Southern Conservation Corporation (SCC) a regional land trust partner that focuses on restoration of degraded fish and wildlife habitats. Over the next few years, SCC will develop a plan for restoring and enhancing the site’s wetlands.  This effort will focus on reducing agricultural run-off into a portion of the Ohio River that is known to contain the endangered fat pocketbook mussel and increasing the amount and connectivity of forested wetlands on the site and along the lower Ohio River.

A portion of SCC’s acquisition costs were reimbursed with KARF funding that came from American Municipal Power – Ohio (AMP-Ohio) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). 

“We’re very appreciative of the wide-ranging support we’ve received on this project,” said Jeff Jones, SCC executive director. “It is unusual for us to have this many partners involved in a project, but it goes to show what can be done if we all move in the same direction. We especially want to recognize the support we’ve received from AMP-Ohio, KYTC, KWA, and the Corps of Engineers in the advance stages of this project.”

AMP-Ohio’s contributions to the KARF occurred last year and are intended to partially offset the effects of the company’s construction of a new hydropower facility located at Smithland Lock and Dam, which is downstream of the purchased site. The construction will remove some habitat for the fat pocketbook mussel and adversely affect some habitat. The KYTC funding will be used for wetland restoration and the establishment of a 50-acre wetland mitigation bank on the site. Once approved, the mitigation bank will be guided by the Louisville and Nashville Districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.