Blanton Forest is located on Pine Mountain in Harlan County and is the
largest old-growth forest known in Kentucky. Trees that tower 100 feet
above the forest floor are the same ones the settlers saw as they came
through the Cumberland Gap and moved westward into Kentucky in the 1700s.
The forest is a union of past and present, one of the rare places where
nature's scheme has gone unchallenged and unexploited.
Several distinct natural communities are found in Blanton
Forest. The most diverse of these is the mixed mesophytic forest. This
forest typically includes a variety of canopy trees such as sugar maple,
beech, tulip poplar, basswood, hemlock, and several species of oaks and
magnolias. It is found on moist, rich slopes and in some ravines. The
larger ravines, or hollows, support a hemlock dominated forest with a
dense understory of rhododendrons. Drier sites on ridges support chestnut
oak dominated forests as well as oak-pine forests. Small open seeps, often
called bogs or mires are filled with sphagnum moss, cinnamon ferns and
wildflowers. They are located in the heads of some hollows on the south
face of the mountain. Watts Creek, a stream within the preserve that supports
a population of the federally threatened fish, Blackside dace, begins
in one of these seeps.
Blanton Forest is named in honor of former owners Grover and Oxie Blanton.
The Blantons purchased the land in 1928 and passed it on to their daughters
with the understanding that it would never be logged. The Blanton family’s
desire to protect the forest forever was fulfilled when the two parcels
containing the old growth were acquired in 1995 and 2001 and dedicated
as state nature preserves.
Preservation
The Blanton Forest Preserve design includes a total of 6,700 acres. This
plan includes buffer lands necessary to protect the 2,350 acres of old
growth forest. Our fundraising efforts, in partnership with funds from
the Commonwealth, have allowed us to protect around 3,100 acres, most
of which has been dedicated as the Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve. Nearly 3,600 acres of the Blanton
Forest Preserve design are still in need of protection.
Stewardship
A stewardship endowment has been established to generate the income needed
to protect and preserve the forest for years to come. This fund will provide
for active management and protection of the rich and diverse forest communities.
The endowment will be invested for growth and security by the board of
directors of the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust. It currently enables us
to employ a fulltime steward for the forest. Additional staff will be
needed as we acquire and protect more land, increase programs to enhance
the visitor experience, and facilitate research needs.
