To guide our work and respond to the challenges before us, KNLT has identified the following goals and detailed the strategies to achieve them in this next five-year period.

Goal I: Protecting & Connecting Wildlands
Land protection is KNLT’s primary goal, with an aim to protect large forest tracts and migratory corridors. Our flagship project, the Pine Mountain Wildlands Corridor, remains the key focus, but our efforts continue to expand into other biologically diverse and important areas of the state. We continue to foster and develop essential partnerships locally, regionally and globally. These partnerships are essential in meeting our goals and the conservation needs throughout the region.

• Strategy A: Protect Key Wildlands in Ecologically Significant Wildlife Corridors
  o Pine Mountain Wildlands Corridor: Pine Mountain is a 125-mile long ridge comprised of a series of large forest tracts that are only broken by a few small roads and cumulatively represents one of the largest forest tracts remaining in the state. The mountain provides critical habitat for hundreds of rare species, projects part of the headwaters of three major rivers, offers vast tourism opportunities and holds potential for a local and sustainable forestry economy. Pine Mountain is a resilient intact ecosystem through a region of extensive resource extraction. KNLT is working in four primary areas along the mountain and has targeted 14 projects covering more than 9,000 acres.
  o Bernheim-Fort Knox Wildlands Corridor: This wildlands corridor project will protect forest and farmland between Bernheim, an over 14,000-acre research forest and arboretum, and Fort Knox, a 109,000-acre US Army post south of Louisville, Kentucky. The corridor has some of the largest tracts of contiguous forest in the state, provides important habitat that is uncommon in this region and protects unique wetlands, headwater streams and riparian forests within the Salt River watershed. KNLT current efforts are focused on expanding Knobs State Forest & Wildlife Management Area, a 1,500 acre protected area within the corridor.
  o Other Projects: KNLT continues to work on several outlier projects within known biodiversity target areas of the state. Landowners and government partners interested in protecting their land frequently contact KNLT. Many government contacts result in partnerships that combine resources for successful protection efforts. Often landowner inquiries are outside of our focus areas thus our efforts to start and mentor new and small land trusts are essential to the greater goal of more land protection throughout the state.
• Strategy B: Manage and Support Imperiled Bat Conservation Fund: The Imperiled Bat Conservation Fund (IBCF), originally named the Indiana Bat Conservation Fund, is a partnership between U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Kentucky Ecological Services Field Office and KNLT. The IBCF is a multi-faceted fund that uses a combination of grant, mitigation, and federal discretionary funding to focus resources on bat, forest, and at-risk terrestrial species conservation in Kentucky. Since its inception, the IBCF has handled more than $19 million and has helped protect more than 15,000 acres of important bat and forest habitat in Kentucky.
• Strategy C: Maintain Long-term Focus and Engagement in Statewide Conservation Efforts: KNLT will continue dialogues about other important regions in Kentucky in an effort to chart expanded future efforts.
• Strategy D: Foster and Develop Conservation Partnerships: Partnerships are key to our conservation efforts. With limited funding for land acquisition partnering and collaborating with local, regional and global organizations is essential to our effort. We have successfully cultivated a strong and wide reaching group of private, nonprofit and government agency partners.
• Strategy E: Identify Land Acquisition Funding:
  Target acquisitions will require a mixture of private, nonprofit and government agency funding. Traditional private and government sources need to be supplement with mitigation banking, tax credits, enhanced deductions and royalties from emerging technologies.

Goal II: Steward Wildlands
Protecting and restoring the wildlands is a key goal of KNLT. Our existing land holdings, along with the suite of conservation lands in our major project areas represent core protected areas that must be properly managed, maintained and defended. Threats, such as invasive species, must be anticipated and addressed to minimize impacts to these wildlands.

• Strategy A: Maintain, Manage and Defend Conservation Value of KNLT Fee Owned Lands and Conservation Partners’ Lands: Once wildlands have been protected ongoing stewardship is essential to maintaining the conservation value of the land. Management plans will help guide stewardship activity and continued partnerships with key conservation organizations will aid in maintaining and defending preserves.
• Strategy B: Maintain Conservation Value of KNLT Conservation Easements: Annual monitoring is necessary to both ensure the conservation value and relationship with the landowner are maintained.
• Strategy C: Maintain and Grow Stewardship Program: Maintaining a stewardship program that is sustainable, efficient, effective and accountable is essential to maintaining the conservation value of KNLT’s lands and the overall wildlife corridors.
• Strategy D: Maintain Involvement with State and Regional Groups: Joining and participating in state and regional working groups, professional organizations and conservation nonprofits is necessary to broaden professional contacts and represent KNLT.

Goal III: Development
Efforts to date have positioned KNLT for major conservation gains in the near term. These gains depend upon critical development work both to ensure adequate and sustained funding, as well as broader recognition and support. KNLT must maintain traditional operational fundraising and land rollovers to fund stewardship and new land purchases.

• Strategy A: Launch Capital Campaign: Use a tiered campaign targeted at major gifts, mid-level donors and to build a broader base of supports.
• Strategy B: Outreach and Media Plan: Expand our support base through website, e-mail list and social media and develop KNLT brand.
• Strategy C: Establish Resource Development Committee: Establishment of this committee will actively support KNLT's development program through the formulation of strategies and activities and will ensure program funding needs are met.

Goal IV: Organizational Strength and Conservation Efforts Statewide
KNLT has evolved into a leading conservation organization in the region with a solid foundation of experience and support. The Land Trust Alliance has recognized KNLT as one of the Southeast’s “excellence” programs. KNLT has been key to efforts to strengthen support for expanded conservation statewide. Continuing to meet our mission depends both on fostering organizational strength and broadening support for conservation across the Commonwealth.

• Strategy A: Maintain and Strengthen KNLT Organizationally: Our strength comes from staff and board expertise paired with a solid support base. KNLT’s board and staff continually evaluate the needs of the organization to assess areas that KNLT needs to strengthen in order to operate successfully to fulfill our mission.
• Strategy B: Maintain and Strengthen Conservation Efforts Statewide: KNLT work must continue to focus on broadening and building conservation efforts statewide. A focus on both legislative efforts via partnerships and a willingness to mentor newly forming land trust are essential to meet the pressing conservation needs in the Commonwealth.