Our Recent Accomplishments
- Appalachian Forest School Founded. This series of field courses offers cross-disciplinary education on behalf of America’s eastern forest with a global-perspective curriculum. The week-long programs are held in some of the East’s largest remaining forest wilderness centers. Goals are to deepen knowledge of the eastern forest’s natural history, ignite identity and sense of place, and awaken regional pride and stewardship.
- 85-Acre Gods Country Saved at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. The Arc successfully anchored the Sanctuary’s farthest western boundary with a significant new acquisition lying just outside the boundary of Rocky Fork State Park. God’s Country brings the Sanctuary up a total of 2200 acres in size, and adds nearly one mile of newly protected shoreline along Rocky Fork Creek. New nesting habitats have been secured for prothonotary, yellow-throated, cerulean and Kentucky warblers. As part of the purchase, the Sanctuary also gained a new colonies of alkaline-loving wildflowers -- showy shooting stars and rare snow trilliums -- both found growing on the dolomite cliff walls bordering the creek.
- 120-acre Baker Fork Bottomlands Saved at Fort Hill! The Arc succeeded in protecting the scenic road entrance to Fort Hill, adding an additional mile of shoreline protection along Baker Fork Creek. After purchasing it, the Arc donated the property to Fort Hill’s owners, the Ohio Historical Society, expanding the park to over 1300 acres in size. A portion of the new property is swamp forest, protecting young groves of shellbark hickories and pin oaks, as well as populations of purple fringeless orchids.
- Appalachian Forest Museum Murals in Contract for Completion. By December of 2011, phase One of the world’s first Museum to interpret the temperate hardwood forest biome will be complete at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. Esteemed international wildlife artist, John Agnew, known for his accurate and striking depictions of Eastern ecosystems and wildlife; and Louisana-based Robert Dafford, known regionally for his stunning riverfront murals on display in Portsmouth, OH and Maysville, KY, have agreed to paint two murals each which will complete the exhibit.
- 52 Acres Added to Rock Run Preserve. Tucked into the southwest boundary of the 60,000-acre Shawnee State Forest, Rock Run is the wildest of the Arc’s 14 preserves and the most inaccessible due to the Appalachian region’s steep, dissected and unstable terrain. Rock Run shelters habitat for the endangered timber rattlesnake, bobcats, several rare plant species, a high diversity of ferns, and one state-listed salamander. This acquisition of Appalachian oak-hickory forest brought Rock Run Preserve to a total of 407 acres.
- 88 Acres Added to Morgan Fork. 235-acre Morgan Fork Preserve is adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the 12,000-acre Pike State Forest. Morgan Fork Preserve contributes to the protection of a large block of contiguous forest securing critical habitat for interior forest breeding birds, and timber rattlesnakes, the latter holding on in small and precarious numbers in the region.
Our Current Campaign
