Rockcastle River

Horse Lick Creek
Horse Lick Creek is a tributary of Rockcastle River
© Jim Hays

State Director, Terry Cook, and his children explore Sinking Creek.
Sinking Creek in Rockcastle County
© Laura Landon

The key to the Conservancy’s success in the Rockcastle River ecosystem has been partnerships. For example, partnerships built and lessons learned after working for more than a decade at Horse Lick Creek, one of the river’s tributaries, are advancing the Conservancy’s work in other parts of the watershed. 

In 2009, the Conservancy joined forces with conservation partners to become the first recipient of a new grant from the Kentucky Aquatic Resources Fund, administered by the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, to acquire 329 acres along Sinking Creek, a tributary of the Rockcastle River which contains state-listed fish and bats, and federally designated critical habitat for the Cumberland elktoe, an endangered mussel. 

Conserving this parcel at Sinking Creek represents what the Conservancy has achieved over many years along the Rockcastle River – taking on projects that no one organization could tackle on their own, but which become achievable as a common goal. Collaborating with partners in these ways not only advances conservation in the Commonwealth, but also represents an incredible value for the Conservancy as it tackles threats throughout the Rockcastle River that will overwhelm the watershed without the intervention of conservation-minded people.  

Size:  400,000 acres

Location:  Encompasses the Rockcastle River watershed, a tributary to the Upper Cumberland River, which covers parts of Jackson, Rockcastle, Laurel and Clay counties.

What’s At Stake:  Several federally-listed threatened or endangered species including the following mussels: Cumberland Combshell, Cumberland Bean, and Little-wing Pearlymussel, and bat species including the Indiana bat, Virginia Big-eared bat and the Gray bat.

Threats:  Coal mining, unsustainable forestry and incompatible agricultural practices, poorly functioning municipal sewer plants, straight pipes and poorly planned urban development.

Milestones:  In 2009, acquired 329 acres along Sinking Creek containing state-listed fish and bats, and critical habitat for the Cumberland elktoe, an endangered mussel. Established the 143-acre Mrs. Baylor O. Hickman Memorial Preserve in 1992 in Pulaski County. Worked cooperatively with the Daniel Boone National Forest for more than a decade to preserve and restore biological diversity in a 40,000-acre bioreserve that includes Horse Lick Creek.

Action: Coordinate multiple partners to tackle threats, mitigate and protect the river ecosystem, and implement best management practices to stop non-point source pollution from county roads and farms. Reclaim abandoned coal mines. Provide environmental education opportunities.

Partners: USDA Forest Service/Daniel Boone National Forest, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, Jackson County government,  Kentucky Waterways Alliance

Learn More:

Visit the Mrs. Baylor O. Hickman Memorial Preserve

Learn about the partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Daniel Boone National Forest.