Laurel Gap Preserve Established
Wildlands News: We are celebrating Earth Day with the announcement of our newest preserve. Earlier this spring KNLT protected 269 acres of wildlands establishing the Laurel Gap Preserve on Pine Mountain in Whitley County. The new preserve is within one of the most remote stretches of the mountain along the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. Laurel Gap […]
20 Years of Wildlands Conservation
Wildlands Blog: KNLT is celebrating Donna Alexander and her 20 years of service to wildlands conservation. From Blanton Forest to Warbler Ridge Donna has played a key role in advancing conservation along Pine Mountain and throughout the Commonwealth. She has helped protect over 50,000 acres from the mountains of eastern Kentucky to the sloughs of […]
Salt Trace Gap Preserve Expands
Wildlands News: Over the winter Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) protected an additional 431 acres of wildlands on Pine Mountain in Harlan County. KNLT worked with a local family and a regional company to acquire two separate tracts of land that expanded its Salt Trace Gap Preserve to 2,391 acres. The newly safeguarded wildlands protect […]
Warbler Ridge Expands to Over 3,000 Acres
Wildlands News: Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) has been working with a diverse group of landowners along Pine Mountain for decades. Over the last few years, a series of five KNLT acquisitions in Harlan and Letcher counties established the Warbler Ridge Preserve which now protects 3,045 acres of vital forested habitat, headwater streams and links […]
Annual Report 2021
Wildlands News: Thanks to your partnership we’ve had another very productive year protecting, connecting and restoring wildlands. The following are a few highlights from 2021: – KNLT protected over 500 acres on Pine Mountain in Harlan County, expanding the Warbler Ridge Preserve to 2,935 acres. We’ve protected an additional 300 acres along the mountain in […]
Wildlands Added to Warbler Ridge
Wildlands News: Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) has protected an additional 340 acres of wildlands on Pine Mountain in Harlan County. The tract expands the Warbler Ridge Preserve to 2,935 acres and links multiple state lands to form 9,000 acres of contiguous protected wildlands. The newly acquired south face land safeguards known forest habitat for […]
Eastern Spotted Skunk Research
Wildlands News by Sara Ash, KNLT Advisor The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), a diminutive, nimble carnivore rarely seen by humans (Video 1), once occurred over a wide geographical area in eastern and central North America. However, its range and population size contracted over the past several decades. The cause for this decline is unclear, […]
Warbler Ridge Preserve Expands
Wildlands News: Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) protected an additional 139 acres on Pine Mountain in Harlan County near Cumberland, Kentucky. The Henry and Delia Blanton Creech Addition to Warbler Ridge Preserve adds to land protected by KNLT in 2017 and 2020 bringing the preserve to 2,595 acres. This project builds upon the organization’s 25-year […]
Legacy of Leadership
Wildlands News by Kelly Bartley, KNLT Board Chair The scope, impact and success of KNLT’s conservation movement has grown in large part due to our board leadership. KNLT has been fortunate to have a stellar array of board members from across Kentucky and around the country who have committed themselves to protecting, connecting and restoring […]
Thinking Like a Planet
More than 50 years ago Aldo Leopold defined a land ethic with a call to “think like a mountain,” a holistic view of our place in the ecosystem. More recently J. Baird Callicott expanded Leopold’s concept by defining an Earth ethic with a call to “think like a planet,” a broader view of our place […]
Annual Report 2020
Wildlands News: This year marks KNLT’s 25th anniversary and a notable benchmark – together we have protected more than 50,000 acres of wildlands! Through the power of partnership, we have safeguarded wild places, from the mountains of Central Appalachia to the sloughs of the Mississippi River. The following are a few highlights from 2020: – […]
Warbler Ridge Preserve Established
Wildlands News: Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) protected an additional 1,368 acres on Pine Mountain near Cumberland, Kentucky, establishing the Warbler Ridge Preserve. The preserve combines this newly acquired tract with land protected in 2017, creating our largest preserve totaling 2,456 acres. This is one of the most unique conservation projects in our history. This […]
Reaccreditation Notification 2020
Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) is pleased to announce it is applying for renewal of accreditation through the Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission. The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of […]
Laden Trail Preserve Expanded
Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) has protected an additional 83 acres of the Pine Mountain Wildlands Corridor expanding the Laden Trail Preserve in Harlan County. The newly protected wildlands are on the south face of the mountain adjacent to Kentenia State Forest and near the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Initially established in 2019, the preserve […]
KNLT Welcomes New Board and Staff Leadership
Kentucky Natural Lands Trust is happy to welcome new leadership into our Board of Directors and staff team. Kelly Bartley, an environmental law attorney with Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP, was recently elected Board Chair. Nicole Breyette joined the staff team in February as Development Director. The Board also elected a founding member, Bert Lyons, as […]
50th Earth Day | KNLT 25th
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the beginning of the modern environmental movement. So much has unfolded worldwide with this movement over the last 50 years although there is much more work to be done. Here in Kentucky, this movement includes the formation of KNLT, and this year we are celebrating our […]
KNLT Establishes the Granshire Branch Preserve in Whitley County
In late December, Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) protected another 127 acres creating the Granshire Branch Preserve on Pine Mountain in Whitley County. The preserve lies within one of the most remote regions of the Commonwealth and builds upon our conservation efforts along Laurel Fork over the last decade. The newly protected wildlands are adjacent […]
Annual Report 2019
KNLT had a very productive year working to protect, connect and restore wildlands. The following are a few highlights from 2019: – KNLT established the Laden Trail Preserve in Harlan County adjacent the Pine Mountain Settlement School and Kentenia State Forest. Read More>>> – KNLT contributed to the Wildlands Network’s recently released conservation plan titled […]