The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Strategic Focus Emphasizes On-the-Ground Conservation Projects

In 2011,  Kentucky continued to focus on specific areas of strategic importance that reinforce our goal to integrate the needs of our rivers and forests with the needs of the people who depend upon them for their livelihoods and way of life.

These areas include:

• Rivers for Life:  The Conservancy will build on a long history of conservation in the Green River Watershed to protect and restore aquatic and riparian habitats and key ecological processes - the flow of water, the movement of nutrients and sediments, the function of floodplains and river corridors - that sustain freshwater systems across Kentucky.  In addition, the Conservancy will work with private landowners, conservation partners and government agencies to advance policies that ensure these key processes continue to support biodiversity while providing clean water that meets the needs of local communities.

• Healthy Forests:   The Conservancy will identify and protect large, core areas of forest that expand existing protected sites with an emphasis on tracts having the potential to adapt to predicted changes in climate.  The Conservancy will develop a Working Forest Program that improves private forest management practices through forest certification and enhances the management of public lands.

• Uniquely Kentucky:  The Conservancy will manage its preserves and conservation easement agreements to the highest standards and use them to catalyze increased stewardship of other private and public lands.  The Conservancy will work with private landowners, conservation groups and public land management agencies to increase the capacity required to maintain and enhance the state's network of private and public conservation lands.  We will continue to pursue land protection opportunities that forever protect representative examples of our uniquely Kentucky habitats, and will increasingly provide opportunities for the people of Kentucky to experience these special places. 

• Conserve Kentucky:  The Conservancy will dedicate resources and staff time to mobilizing partner organizations and citizens committed to preserving Kentucky's cherished outdoor spaces for future generations.  This will be done through establishing permanent funding sources that support the development of a blueprint for coordinating growth with conservation and long-term plan for conserving the best of the Bluegrass State.

To Learn More, Read our Five-Year Strategic Plan