Rockcastle River

Rockcastle River
Rockcastle River
© Jim Hays

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
The Rockcastle River is home to a number of endangered fish, mussel and bat species. Although it has relatively good water quality, the threats to the river are imminent and will overwhelm it without human intervention.  The Conservancy has been active for a decade in the Horse Lick Creek watershed, a tributary to the Rockcastle, and will apply the lessons learned there to protect and enhance the larger Rockcastle River watershed.

Threats
The Rockcastle River ecosystem has suffered from unreclaimed coal mines, poor logging and agricultural practices, municipal sewer plants, straight pipes and development.

Our Conservation Strategy
The key to our success in the Rockcastle River ecosystem has been partnerships with a growing number of local, state and federal entities. The Conservancy has brought together more than twenty partners to tackle the threats and mitigate and protect the river ecosystem. The Rockcastle Roundtable is a consortium of many groups and agencies that focuses on new and nontraditional ways to approach problems by using available resources.  The Conservancy has been active for more than a decade in the Horse Lick Creek Watershed, a Rockcastle tributary, and will apply the lessons learned there to the larger Rockcastle River watershed.

Horse Lick Creek
Horse Lick Creek
© The Nature Conservancy
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Conservancy has taken an active role in the Rockcastle River ecosystem since 1992, with the establishment of the 142-acre Mrs. Baylor O. Hickman Memorial Preserve in Pulaski County.

A great deal of progress in reversing the damage has been done with installation of best management practices on roads and farms to stop non-point source pollution, with mine reclamation, consensus building and environmental education.

Land acquisition by the Conservancy, the Daniel Boone National Forest and the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission has protected habitat for terrestrial and aquatic species.
 
Projects/Preserves/Places to Visit

                                                     Bethel Church Restoration and Homecoming