nature – Land, Air & Water

Tag: nature

A Spark for Native Growth: Inside a Prescribed Burn with The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves

By Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet on June 8, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

Before a single flame touches the grass, a prescribed burn has already happened on paper.
For Zach Beyer, burn boss with the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP), prescribed fire is not guesswork. It is not an impulse. It is not simply lighting a field and stepping back. Every prescribed burn begins with a detailed plan, shaped by weather, terrain, staff, equipment, ecological goals, emergency contacts, neighbor notifications and the boundaries that will keep the fire exactly where it belongs.

Rooting for Natives: Division of Forestry, Volunteers, and Local Partners Remove Invasive Plants

By Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet on April 20, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

By Brad Bowman With gloves on, saws in hand and a bit of shared purpose, community volunteers teamed up with the Kentucky Division of Forestry, Yew Dell Botanical Gardens staff and a small army of Louisville Urban Forestry’s Louisville Equitable Forest Initiative (LEFI) team members to remove invasive […]

OKNP Partners Up to Survey Kentucky’s Streams for Mussels

By Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet on September 29, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

A collaborative team of environmental professionals recently gathered at the Quiet Trails Nature Preserve, located along the Licking River, to conduct a comprehensive mussel survey. Participants included representatives from the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP), federal and Kentucky fish and wildlife agencies, the Kentucky Department of Transportation, and Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC.