Kentucky Conservation Committee Annual Meeting
Held Saturday September 20, 2008

Link to Proceedings from 2008 Annual Meeting
2.5mb Adobe PDF

Link to slide show of 2008 Annual Meeting Events

Link to Meeting Agenda
Link to information about Annual Meeting Speakers
Special Scholarships for Campus Liaisons

Blackacre State Nature Preserve was the site of KCC's annual meeting for 2008. The theme of the meeting was “Conserve Kentucky The Conserve Kentucky initiative began two years ago with a LRC sponsored task force, charged with studying:

“The Commonwealth's strategy for the protection of natural areas, farmlands, habitats and forests and produce recommendations for a comprehensive land stewardship and conservation program." www.lrc.ky.gov/Committee/Special/Conserv%20TF/home.htm

The annual meeting provided participants with an update of the Task Force's progress, and involved them in discussions of next steps, regarding proposed legislation for the 2009 session.

Five panels, comprised of legislators, state agency, environmental organizations, educators and research scientists, participated. The meeting closed with a discussion of KCC's environmental legislative priorities for the upcoming session.

Blackacre State Nature Preserve was an ideal location to hold such discussion, as it is our Commonwealth's first nature preserve in the Kentucky State Nature Preserve system. Since 1982, The Blackacre Conservancy, ( www.blackacreconservancy.org ), KCC's host, has been actively protecting and interpreting the 180 acre Nature Preserve. Recently, the Conservancy has purchased 100 acres of land adjacent to the preserve which will be the site of a new nature and administrative center. Since the establishment of the preserve, Jefferson County Public Schools, ( www.jcpsky.net/ee ), has led ecological investigations at Blackacre; these investigations focus on understanding the value of conserving Kentucky .

The annual meeting concluded with a tour of the Floyds Fork Corridor project, the largest new park project in the United States . The tour, led by Dr. Dan Jones , CEO and president of the 21 st Century Parks, http://www.21cparks.org/ , was an up-close and personal view of the ecology, planning, challenges and opportunities of land conservation in an urban/suburban center. The tour also provided the participant with an overview of the 105 Louisville Loop , http://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroParks/cityofparks , clarifying Floyds Fork in its context as a cornerstone of the Loop project.

Dr. David Wicks , ( dwicks@bellsouth.net ), was Local Arrangements Chair, and Russ Barnett, r.barnett@louisville.edu , was Program Chair for the meeting.

We thank all the leaders that joined KCC to help shape future environmental policy in Kentucky and ensure that we Conserve Kentucky !

2008 Annual Meeting Agenda