Long term monitoring of Kentucky Clover in Franklin County @T. LIttlefield
Big news for native clover conservation in the Bluegrass State! Several years of conservation collaboration has resulted in the first transplants of the globally rare Kentucky Clover back into the Bluegrass Woodlands this fall! This endangered clover was discovered (2010) and described (2013) recently and was known from only two privately owned limestone woodlands in the Inner bluegrass of Kentucky. Since its discovery, the Kentucky clover had disappeared from both sites despite annual monitoring and management efforts conducted by Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield and KDFWR biologist Joe Lacefield. Luckily, seed collection and propagation efforts were successful due to our collaborative efforts with Valerie Pence, Kristine Lindsey, and Mairead Kennedy from the Cincinnati zoo CREWs plant program, among many other partners, and the first batch of Kentucky Clover plants was transferred to OKNP in order to transplant into high quality, managed limestone woodlands.
Mairead Kennedy and Valerie Pence present propagated Kentucky Clover Plants at CREW @T. Littlefield
CREW staff have developed techniques to propagate Kentucky Clover @T. Littlefield
After several years of managing transplant sites for removal of invasive species such as bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), OKNP staff and partners transplanted 75 Kentucky clover plants back into the original Franklin county site as well as transplanted new populations into 3 additional protected high-quality natural areas in Franklin county. OKNP botanists and partners will be monitoring the success of these transplants over the next several years and conducting quantitative studies on how best to manage for this rare clover and its unique limestone woodland habitat.
Clover Power! @ T. Littlefield
Limestone woodlands in Franklin county @T. Littlefield
Brian Baker (Cove Spring staff) assists in KY Clover planting @T. Littlefield
OKNP biologists and GIS staff (from L to R): Vanessa Voelker, Devin Rodger, Rachel Cook, Heidi Braunreiter, Courtney Hayes, Tara Littlefield, and Lexi Schoenlaub. @ Brain Baker
The power of partnership is key to conserving rare plants and the collaborative approach of the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance has made these recovery efforts possible. if you would like to help with these or other plant conservation alliance projects, please contact tara.littlefield@ky.gov.
By Tony Romano, OKNP botanist/Conservation Coordinator
Figure 1: A remnant grassland with eastern whiteflower beardtongue (Penstemon tenuiflorus) in Logan County
Grasslands are an increasingly rare plant community type in Kentucky and the southeastern United States. Kentucky has often been depicted as a continuous forest, but we now understand that grasslands (defined broadly here to include prairie, savanna, barrens, and woodland communities) were once much more widespread throughout the state. Estimates of pre-settlement grassland communities in Kentucky range from 2.5 to 3 million acres. These grasslands are now nearly gone, with less than 1 percent of natural prairie and barrens remaining today in Kentucky (Abernathy et al. 2010). Much of this loss can be attributed to direct conversion of habitat through agricultural and urban development. The cessation of historical disturbances such as fire and grazing by large herds of animals has allowed the remaining grasslands to be degraded and slowly converted into forests by woody succession.
Figure 2: Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), state watch list species, with great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele).
Figure 3: A rare limestone glade remnant in Breckenridge County.
Figure 4: Roadside wet meadow with swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) and Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) butterfly.
Figure 5: Ecologist and writer Aldo Leopold. Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives
Aldo Leopold, a name that looms large in ecology, recognized over 70 years ago that roadsides were some of the last bastions of the mid-west tallgrass prairie in Wisconsin and Illinois. Even in Leopold’s time, most of the tallgrass prairie in the mid-west was already lost to the same processes that have diminished Kentucky’s grasslands. A Sand County Almanac, a collection of Leopold’s essays published posthumously in 1949, is a seminal work of ecological and philosophical writing that continues to influence the thinking of ecologists and conservationists to this day. While re-reading Almanac this past winter, I was struck by two essays that had direct bearing on the topic of this article. In Prairie Birthday, Leopold describes a remnant prairie tucked in the corner of a cemetery which borders a highway. He describes a stand of compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), perhaps the last population in that county, that blooms each July in that cemetery. Sadly, the fence separating the prairie from the road is eventually removed and the Silphium is mowed. Leopold laments that “this is one little episode in the funeral of the native flora, which in turn is one episode in the funeral of the floras of the world.”
Recognizing that things don’t need to be this way, Leopold continues “…every highway is bordered by an idle strip as long as it is; keep cow, plow, and mower out of these idle spots, and the full native flora … could be part of the normal environment of every citizen.”
In a later essay, Illinois Bus Ride, Leopold describes the vestiges of native plants and animals that he observes out the window of a bus traveling through Illinois. He notes that “In the narrow thread of sod between the shaved banks and toppling fences grow the relics of what once was Illinois: the prairie.” The foresight of these essays, that roadside remnants would become vital for grassland conservation, is truly astounding.
Figure 6: Newly discovered roadside population of barrens silky aster (Symphyotrichum pratense)(G4/S3).
Figure 7: Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) along a roadside in Meade County.
In recent years, roadsides and utility right-of-ways have been increasingly recognized by ecologists and land managers for their potential conservation value. Research has shown that roadsides can provide important habitat for many pollinating insects, including at-risk species like the monarch butterfly (Hopwood 2008). Because they are maintained in an open, grass dominated state, roadsides can also contain remnants of native grassland communities that support diverse and sometimes rare plant species. Importantly, research shows that intact, high-quality, grasslands provide some of the best habitat for pollinators due to the abundance and diversity of plant species that occur in these communities (Ries et al. 2001). In other words, if we can protect high-quality roadside grasslands, we will also be providing vital habitat to insect populations. Nationwide, approximately 10 million acres of roadside right-of-ways are managed by state transportation departments (Forman et al. 2003). If successfully managed for native plant species, ten million acres is a tremendous amount of potential pollinator and grassland habitat.
Fortunately, Leopold’s old idea has gained traction. At the federal level, an important 2014 Presidential Memorandum addressed concerns over the monarch butterfly and declining populations of important pollinating insects. The memo directed federal agencies to increase or improve pollinator habitat nationwide (White House 2014). The memo additionally directed the Federal Department of Transportation to work with state departments of transportation to promote pollinator friendly practices. In accordance with this memo, the Federal Highway Administration researched and published several documents outlining best management practices (BMPs) and restoration techniques for managing roadside right-of-ways for native plants and pollinating insects (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2016).
Figure 8: OKNP’s progress so far on roadside pollinator habitat and grassland surveys
Figure 9: Appalachian rosinweed (Silphium wasiotense) a globally rare plant (G3/S that thrives on roadsides.
In the Commonwealth, the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) have partnered on a 5-year project to survey all of the state maintained roads for high-quality pollinator and grassland habitat. KYTC maintains approximately 31,000 miles of roadside right-of-way which includes the interstates, US highways, and all state highways. Surveys began in 2020, and so far our botanists have surveyed over 13,000 miles of road in over 40 counties. We have evaluated over 200 sites for pollinator habitat and have identified over 30 high-quality grasslands. We also identified over 20 additional sites that do not necessarily meet high-quality grassland criteria, but still provide important habitat for certain rare plant species like the Appalachian Rosinweed (Silphium wasiotense). This Silphium is a globally rare species (G3/S3), endemic to Kentucky and Tennessee, that thrives on forest edges along roads in eastern Kentucky. In line with the goals of the Kentucky Pollinator Protection Plan (Kentucky Department of Agriculture 2019), once important sites are identified, we are working with KYTC to modify existing management to support and benefit these grassland communities and rare plant habitats. We believe this work will help preserve the full native flora of Kentucky.
Now, there is a second old idea in Leopold’s essays that I would like to briefly touch on if the reader will permit it. In addition to his concern over the retreating prairie, Leopold was once again ahead of his time when he observed what we would now call “plant blindness” in his contemporaries. In Illinois Bus Ride he comments that “No one in the bus sees these relics. A worried farmer … looks blankly at the lupines, lespedezas, or Baptisias … He does not distinguish them from the parvenu [exotic] quackgrass in which they grow.” Leopold continues “Were I to ask him the name of that white spike of pea-like flowers hugging the fence, he would shake his head. A weed, likely.” In Prairie Birthday he states the issue directly “We grieve only for what we know. The erasure of Silphium from western Dane County is no cause for grief if one knows it only as a name in a botany book.”
Figure 10: “…that white spike of pea-like flowers” isn’t a weed, its white wild indigo (Baptisia leucantha)!
Figure 11: Newly discovered roadside population of round-head bush clover (Lespedeza capitata) (G5/S3).
Figure 12: Tony Romano, OKNP botanist, at a newly found and highly diverse roadside prairie.
Coined in 1998 by botanists Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee the term “plant blindness” refers to “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment” (Allen 2003). Plant blindness among the general public diminishes peoples understanding, interest, and connection to nature. Left untreated, plant blindness can result in declines in funding for plant biology education, research, and conservation initiatives. One of the primary missions of KNPS is to educate the public about plants and alleviate plant blindness. It is my hope that OKNP’s roadside habitat project will contribute to the visibility of native plants and spark interest in learning about and conserving our native flora.
One way that readers could help our efforts is to take a look at your local backroads. OKNP’s roadside survey project is limited to state maintained roads and generally excludes county and local roads. Please join our inaturalist project and help us document important habitat by adding your observations of roadside native plants to the project at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/kentucky-roadside-native-plants.
References:
Abernathy, G., D. White, E. L. Laudermilk, and M. Evans, editors. 2010. Kentucky’s Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY., USA.
Allen, W. 2003. Plant Blindness. BioScience. 53(10).
Forman, R. T. T., D. Sperling, J.A. Bissonette, A. P. Clevenger, C.D. Cutshall, V.H. Dale, L. Fahrig, R. France, C. R. Goldman, K. Heanue, J.A. Jones, F.J. Swanson, T. Turrentine, and T.C. Winter. 2003. Road Ecology: Science and Solutions. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Hopwood, J. 2008. The contribution of roadside grassland restorations to native bee conservation. Biological Conservation. 141.
Kentucky Department of Agriculture. 2019. Kentucky Pollinator Protection Plan. Available at: https://www.kyagr.com/statevet/documents/OSV_Bee_KY-Pollinator-Pro-Plan.pdf. Accessed: October 2021.
Ries, L., Debinski, D.M., and M.L. Wieland. 2001. Conservation value of roadside prairie restoration to butterfly communities. Conservation Biology. 15(2).
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. 2016. Pollinators and Roadsides: Best Management Practices for Managers and Decision Makers. Available: https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/env_topics/ecosystems/Pollinators_Roadsides/BMPs_pollinators_roadsides.pdf. Accessed: October 2021.
White House Office of Press Secretary. 2014. “2014 Pollinator Presidential Memo.” Available: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/presidential-memo.htm. Accessed: October 2021.
Mountain lover (Paxistima canbyi) in Carter County, Kentucky (Photo by T. Littlefield)
Limestone outcrops/Mountain Lover habitat overlooking the Cumberland River in Pulaski County, Kentucky (Photo by T. Littlefield)
Mountain Lover (Paxistima canbyi) is a globally rare (G2), small evergreen shrub in the bittersweet family (Celastraceae). This shrub is occurs in Kentucky (S2), Maryland (S1), Ohio (S1), Pennsylvania (S2), Tennessee (S1), Virginia (S2), and West Virginia (S2), and is listed as state threatened or endangered throughout its range. This interesting shrub grows clonally and can form dense patches with stems reaching 6-12 inches. Fruit development and seed production are reportedly quite rare in the wild and there may be fewer than sixty genetically distinct plants throughout its entire range due to its clonal nature, further compounding its rarity.
One interesting note about the mountain lover is that it is thought to be an ancient glacial relict species, a remnant from a long lost ecosystem that occurred in this region prior to the last glaciation some 20,000 years ago. The late Dr. E. Lucy Braun, the esteemed plant ecologist from Cincinnati, had an interest in this plant and speculated that the mountain lover was an ancient glacial relict species that occurred along a pre glacial river system called the Teays River. I wonder how long these remnant populations have been clinging to the limestone cliffs and how old the root systems are of these clonal shrubs, perhaps thousands, even tens of thousands of years old?
Mountain lover has very small green/marron flowers with four sepals and four petals arising from upper leaf axils. While I occasionally see it flower, i have never found any fruits (photo by: T. Littlefield)
Global Range of Mountain Lover. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Paxistima%20canbyi.png
Natural regions where mountain lover is found in Kentucky
I have long been fascinated by this plant and the limestone cliff and outcrop habitats where it grows. In Kentucky, It occurs in several sub regions of the interior low and Appalachian plateaus, including the inner bluegrass, the knobs, and the cliff section/intersection of the eastern highland rim and Cumberland Plateau. It is associated with limestone rocky ledges and cliffs, with an overstory/midstory of Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergia), Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrandulata), Eastern Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana). The herbaceous/shrub layer includes shrubby st. johns wort (Hypericum prolificum), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), smooth rockcress (Boechera laevigata), limestone cliff sedge (Carex eburnia), purple cliff break fern (Pellaea atropurpurea), and wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). The limestone cliffs and outcrops typically occur in deep ravine gorges that form unique microclimates that also provide habitat for other glacial relict disjunct rare species such as Canada yew (Taxus canadensis), walter’s violet (Viola walteri), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), glade phlox (Phlox bifida var. stellaria), purple oat grass (Schizachne purpurscens) and snow trillium (Trillium nivale). The overall community assemblages of the mountain lover sites are unique between the various regions, and we are currently working with NatureServe to classify these plant communities to determine global rarity and classifications.
Walters violet (Viola walteri, S1) grows with mountain lover in Carter county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
Canada yew (Taxus canadensis, S1), glacial relict disjunct rare plant grows with mountain lover in Carter county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
Gnarly Eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) grow on the limestone cliffs/mountain lover habitat in Estill county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
Overlook at a mountain lover site in Estill county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis, S1), a glacial relict disjunct rare tree, grows with mountain lover in Wayne county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
View from below the limestone cliffs at a mountain lover site in Madison county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield
Another common name of this plant is the “rat stripper” due to its relationship with eastern wood rats (Neotoma magister) that co-occur in the limestone outcrop habitats. These animals have been known to sever the woody stems to utilize in nests building along the cliffs. I have personally observed this phenomena at one of our Kentucky sites in Estill County, where I came upon a population with hundreds of freshly severed stems, wood rat tracks and nesting signs. I collected a few of the fresh cut stems and rooted them in potting mix after that trip. Could wood rats also play a role in expanding mountain lover populations along the cliff lines by inadvertently planting some as they drop stems along the cliff lines?
Major threats to the mountain lover include invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Euonymus scale (Unaspis euonymi, a small non-native aphid-like bug), timber removal, deer browsing and climate change. The majority of populations occur on private lands so development of the cliff tops has impacted a few populations and could be a threat to several more. Perhaps the greatest threat in Kentucky appears to be from the Euonymus scale, with over 50% of our populations experiencing declines due to this nonnative bug. Euonymus scale not only effects populations of mountain lover, but most species in the bittersweet family are affected as well, such as the eastern wahoo (Euonymus americana) and American bittersweet (Celastris americana). Due to the steep, cliff habitat where mountain lover occurs, there could be undiscovered populations that are inaccessible to humans. Additional surveys for new populations could further our understanding of the species and help evaluate its conservation status.
Euonymus scale infestation on Mountain Lover population in Madison County, Kentucky. Photo by T. Littlefield. For more info on Euonymus scale visit https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef428
Medium infestation of Euonymous scale in a mountain lover population in Powell county, note yellowing of leaves, several dead patches were nearby, Photo by T. Littlefield
We know that mountain lover is globally rare, has numerous threats, and occurs primarily on private land. So how can we work together to preserve this unique species? Conservation measures include networking with landowners that harbor mountain lover populations, targeting land acquisition projects to include these priority private sites, manage populations for the euonymus scale, and increase ex situ conservation efforts with horticulturalists. In June of 2021, recent efforts by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden along with partners at the Daniel Boone National Forest, Berea College forest and several private landowners focused on visiting populations in all of the sub regions in Kentucky and collecting living samples to propagate for ex situ conservation and future introductions. Site evaluations, natural community assessments and rare plant updates were also conducted as a part of this collection trip. Having additional sites on public lands would allow researchers and biologists more opportunities for monitoring and managing these populations into the future. Conservation horticulturalist John Evans at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is now currently growing plants from 5 populations in Kentucky for future introductions within OKNP natural areas in the inner Bluegrass, Daniel Boone national Forest lands in the Cumberland Plateau, and Berea college forest sites in the knobs region.
Calab Evans, Atlanta Botanical Garden Horticultural technician, roots cuttings of Mountain lover from recent collection trips
John Evans, conservation horticulturalist at Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Tara Littlefield, OKNP/KPCA botanist hanging out on limestone cliffs on a recent collection trip
If you would like to know more about these efforts or other Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance efforts to conserve the rare plants and communities in Kentucky, please contact tara.littlefield@ky.gov.
By: Heidi Braunreiter, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Plant Ecologist
OKNP botanist conducting running buffalo clover survey in 2019 along Boone Creek in Clark County. Photo by Heidi Braunreiter.
Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a perennial clover with showy white flowers and leaves divided into three leaflets, and was historically native to several eastern and midwestern U.S. states. Based on numerous references to clovers in historical literature, it is believed to have been abundant across its historical range in pre-settlement times, which included the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky (Campbell et al. 1988). However by 1900, its extent had drastically reduced, and only five populations in total remained (Brooks, 1983). Throughout the 20th century, there were numerous fruitless attempts to relocate populations, which lead scientists to believe the species was extirpated from states where it was historically common. Finally, in 1983 populations were relocated in West Virginia and Indiana, as well as in northern Kentucky in 1987 (Campbell et al. 1988). With so few populations known, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) opted to list the species in 1987 as ‘federally endangered,’ because it was at a high risk of extinction (USWFS 2007).
The decline of running buffalo clover is believed to have been caused by a combination of factors: as land was settled, habitat destruction ensued and competition from non-native invasive species became a problem (Campbell et al. 1988). Another factor was the loss of the American Bison on the landscape. Historical observations noted the clover’s preference for sites where American Bison congregated (Bartgis 1985). Bison likely provided a means of fertilizer, seed scarification, seed dispersal, and the periodic disturbance regime necessary for the running buffalo clover’s life cycle (Campbell et al. 1988). The loss of bison from the landscape would have dramatically affected the species’ propagation.
Running buffalo clover in a cemetery in Boone County, Kentucky. Photo by Heidi Braunreiter.
Today, you will find running buffalo clover in areas that have periodical disturbances mimicking bison; for example, along trails where plants get trampled, in old estate lawns or cemeteries that are regularly mowed, and on stream terraces with occasional flooding events. Running buffalo clover also prefers dappled sunlight in a forested setting. If the forest canopy becomes either too closed or too open, running buffalo clover populations tend to decline in number as it does not tolerate full shade or full sun (USFWS 2021).
Over the past two decades, the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) has conducted monitoring on running buffalo clover populations in Kentucky in order to look at population trends and manage for non-native invasive plants. Over this time, many new county records were discovered through targeted searches of historical estates, cemeteries, and stream restoration efforts in the Bluegrass Region. Several successful propagation and introductions efforts have also occurred over the years, for example, new populations were introduced and are now self-sufficient at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Mercer County and Taylor Fork Ecological Area in Madison County.
In 2019, running buffalo clover was proposed for delisting by the USFWS, as many populations had been discovered since its initial listing over 30 years prior. In response to the 2019 proposed delisting, OKNP conducted a state-wide assessment of our running buffalo clover populations. Despite set-backs from the pandemic, we were able to survey 61 populations, which covered the majority of the known extant populations in Kentucky. Sites not included in the assessment were already determined to be extirpated, or inaccessible. Most populations in Kentucky occur on private lands, and although obtaining access to private lands can be difficult, we have been grateful for the curiosity, interest, and enthusiastic response from many property owners. Overall, population trends in Kentucky show approximately half of the populations as stable or increasing in size while the other half of populations are declining in size or extirpated (Table 1). Figure 1 shows an updated range map of extant running buffalo clover populations in Kentucky.
Table 1. Population trends of running buffalo clover in Kentucky during the 2019-2020 statewide survey.
A huge success that came out of the 2019-2020 statewide survey was the discovery of the largest running buffalo clover population in Kentucky. On the Mt. Folly Farm in Clark County, a population of over 6,000 plants was counted along the Upper Howards Creek. Other large populations of running buffalo clover in the state top out around 1,000 to 2,000 plants. The significance of this population led to the creation of a new Registered Natural Area with OKNP at Mt. Folly Farm. The clover occurs in the floodplain of the creek in cattle pastures and riparian woods. This site holds potential for future research as it has running buffalo clover in areas with and without a cattle-grazing regime.
As of September 2021, running buffalo clover was delisted by USFWS as they believe there are a sufficient number of populations occurring on publicly owned and managed lands to sustain the species’ viability (USWFS 2021). As of 2020, 175 extant populations occur across its range in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and biologists in these states discover new populations every year. Within Kentucky, many populations occur on Wildlife Management Areas where stream restoration projects are ongoing. The key to the future success of this plant is the continued management of populations to keep invasive plants at bay and the continued implementation of appropriate disturbance regimes, be that mowing, grazing, or trampling.
If you are interested in adopting a running buffalo clover population in Kentucky to do yearly checkups to remove invasive species, please contact me! heidi.braunreiter@ky.gov.
Figure 1. Extant range of running buffalo clover in Kentucky as of February 2021.
Bibliography
Bartgis, R. 1985. Rediscovery of Trifolium stoloniferum Muhl. ex A. Eaton. Rhodora 87:425–429.
Brooks, R. 1983. Trifolium stoloniferum, Running buffalo clover: Description, distribution, and current status. Rhodora 85:343–354.
Campbell, J.J.N., M. Evans, M.E. Medley, and N.L. Taylor. 1988. Buffalo clovers in Kentucky (Trifoliumstoloniferum and Trifolium reflexum) – Historical records, presettlement environment, rediscovery, endangered status, cultivation and chromosome number. Rhodora 90:399–418.
USFWS. 2007. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) Recovery Plan: First Revision. Department of the Interior, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region (Region 3), Fort Snelling, MN.
Volunteers Needed for Upcoming Sandstone Rockhouse Monitoring Project to help protect native plants, animals and archeological resources
Figure 1: Sandstone rockhouses in the Red River Gorge are home to many cultural and biological resources
The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and U.S. Forest Service are seeking to partner with citizen scientists to monitor culturally and ecologically significant sandstone rockhouses and cliffline communities that occur in the Red River Gorge Geological Area. These communities contain many rare and endemic plants and animal species, as well as archeological resources that need your help! Volunteers must submit an application for review, and will be notified of selection in the fall of 2021. Training will be provided and volunteers will begin to help monitor and conserve their assigned rockhouse in 2022. Time commitment is estimated to be approximately 5 working days throughout the year, as well as email correspondence and other requirements listed below. Groups or individuals are welcome to apply.
Why are sandstone rockhouses and cliffline communities in the Red River Gorge Geological Area significant?
Ecology: Sandstone rockhouses are cave like recesses in sandstone cliffs formed by erosion. Dry by nature, they are almost completely sheltered from precipitation; getting water from windblown rain, waterfalls from above or ground water seepage through the sandstone. Compared to the surrounding conditions of the mixed mesophytic forest, rockhouses are warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and have lower evaporation rates and higher humidity. Soils found in rockhouses are mostly low pH sand with high levels of some nutrients from saltpeter earth and prehistoric human activities. Due to these conditions, rockhouses have their own unique flora and fauna that include several rockhouse endemic species. Sandstone rockhouses are home to the Federally Delisted White-haired Goldenrod, a species that only occurs in the RRGGA.
Figure 2: OKNP technician surveys a sandstone rockhouse at the Red River Gorge
Cultural Heritage:
The structure of the rockhouses naturally provide protection from precipitation,
making them valuable as archeological sites. Artifacts and plant materials decompose in other conditions, but are well preserved in the dry, nitrate-rich soils of rockhouses.
Humans have been utilizing rockhouses for thousands of years, and leaving traces of their lives behind. Approximately 12,000 years ago, Native peoples used them as encampments, locations for special activities, bivouacs, and burial sites. Within the last several centuries, rockhouses have been used as dwellings, barns, campsites, schoolhouses, saltpeter mines, shelters for whiskey stills and more. In addition, faunal and flora remains found in rockhouses have helped archeologists better understand the development of agriculture in eastern North America.
What is the impact of recreation on clifflines and rockhouses?
Clifflines and rockhouses are extremely sensitive to human impacts, yet these locations have seen a continued surge in recreational use. In the last 10 years, visitation to the Red River Gorge Geological Area has increased by almost 40%. There has been extensive documentation of the area on social media, guidebooks, and outdoor websites that have increased visitation of hikers, campers, photographers, and other outdoorspeople. The RRGGA is also one of the most popular climbing destinations in the Eastern United States, therefore the rising popularity of rock climbing and bouldering across the country has led to an influx of visitors wishing to climb at “The Red.”
Increased and prolonged recreational presence in the rockhouse and cliffline communities can cause habitat loss and degradation, erosion, eradication of species, and loss of cultural resources. The growing recreational use has increased the need to monitor cliffline and rockshelter sites that are known to contain populations of rare plant and animal species, and/or heritage resources. The data from the monitoring will be used to ensure that appropriate mitigations are in place to protect these sensitive habitats and significant cultural sites.
How do I get involved?
First, check the list of basic Volunteer Requirements and see if this program is right for you:
Adopt a Rockshelter Program Volunteers must:
1. Have an interest in conserving and protecting biological and cultural resources.
2. Be willing to complete required training provided by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and U.S. Forest Service. Training is being developed by OKNP, USFS and Dan Doursan, and will be provided to volunteers in 2022.
3. Be able to fulfill the time commitment required by the program. Adopting 1 rockshelter carries a 5-day commitment that will include training and site visits.
4. Be able to hike long distances on uneven terrain along designated and user defined trails.
5. Feel comfortable working with, or being willing to learn, a touchscreen tablet for data collection.
6. Be able to remove invasive species.
If the ARP is something you’d like to be involved with, please email naturepreserves@ky.gov to receive an application. OKNP and USFS staff will review all volunteer applications and contact those who have been admitted.
Clovers (Trifolium sp.) are well recognized by the public primarily because of their role as a forage crop and lawn weed. In Kentucky, we have 12 species of clover, but only 3 are native to our state, Kentucky Clover (Trifolium kentuckiense), running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum), and buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum). All of our native clovers have declined greatly since European settlement and are state or federally listed as threatened or endangered. Historic accounts from pioneers and historic collections of native clovers indicate that our native clovers may have been more common in the woodlands of our state, particularly in the Bluegrass Region. Our native clovers have common names associated with buffalo since their associated habitat historically occurred mostly along buffalo/animal trails through the forest, which the Bluegrass Region is known for, large ungulates grazing on the grasses and forbs in our woodland systems.
In an effort to increase coordination and collaboration focused on priority native clover (Trifolium sp.) conservation projects in Kentucky, close to 30 botanists, ecologists, researchers, students, and land managers met in late February 2021 to discuss all things native clover (Trifolium sp.). Species of focus included the globally rare and newly described Kentucky Clover (Trifolium kentuckiense), the federally endangered running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum), and the state threatened buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum).
The Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance coordinated the meeting and facilitators from the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Virginia Tech University, Eastern Kentucky University, Austin Peay University, University of Michigan, and Cincinnati Zoo presented information on the current status (population ranks and trends), current conservation measures (land protection and management efforts), current research (life history, management needs, and genetics), as well as seedbanking and propagation efforts The goal of the group is to work more collaboratively together to prevent the extinction or extirpation of these native clovers. If you missed the meeting, here is the agenda, and recorded version and meeting notes
If you are interested in joining our clover conservation group and helping with some of the existing working groups involving research, monitoring, management, propagation, seedbanking, and fundraising for priority clover projects, please contact Tara Littlefield, tara.littlefield@ky.gov. We will continue to provide updates on existing Trifolium projects through the ladyslipper newsletter and at the Kentucky Botanical Symposium this fall. We will also be organizing various volunteer days this summer to help with monitoring and managing running buffalo clover, so be on the lookout for future volunteer work day announcements.
“Collaborative conservation of rare plants and natural communities in Kentucky and the greater region”
What is the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance (KYPCA)?
The Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance (KYPCA) is a public private partnership of state and federal agencies, land managers, academic researchers, botanical gardens, conservation horticulturists, non-profits, conservation groups, private sector/consultants, community scientists, and volunteers committed to protecting native plants and natural communities of conservation concern with a central goal of preventing plant extinctions. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and Kentucky Native Plant Society both recognized the need for a greater focus on rare plants and formed this alliance in 2016 in order to facilitate collaboration amongst existing conservation groups in the state by providing a framework to bring together the botanical community on focused priority plant conservation projects across the commonwealth. Priority projects are coordinated primarily by botanists and conservation staff at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) and collaborative meetings/field days/work days, outreach and volunteer building has been organized primarily by the Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS). The KYPCA is also linked with national, regional, and state alliance initiatives like the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance that help us learn how to most effectively build plant conservation in Kentucky. We seek to prevent plant extinctions and preserve natural heritage for future generations by better leveraging resources of existing partnerships as well as building new partnerships to expand the collective capability of plant conservation in Kentucky.
Kentucky is a very diverse state floristically, from the Cumberland Mountains in the East to the swamps of the coastal plain region in the west. The diversity is due to the topography and position on the landscape, the variety of geology and soils, the lack of recent glaciation and the history of natural disturbances such as fire and grazing. However, the landscape of Kentucky has changed dramatically since European settlement. Development and agriculture resulted in the dramatic loss of our old growth forests in the east, the grasslands of the interior plateau and the wetlands of the coastal plain. Over 2000 native plants have been documented in Kentucky. Unfortunately approximately 20% of our plants are rare, threatened or endangered. Kentucky has 11 federally listed species and an additional 40 or so plants are globally rare and declining. But there are still plant diversity hotspots scattered in remnant natural areas across the state. 65% of rare plants and 80% of rare natural communities in Kentucky are associated with grasslands, barrens or woodlands that need some level of disturbance (fire, browsing) or edaphic control (rock outcrops) to persist and all of our rare plants and communities need invasive species management. Only a handful of professional staff are able to devote their time to monitoring and managing these rare plants due to limited resources. In order to more effectively conserve these rare species and communities, we need to work collaboratively with partners and volunteers across the state to increase in situ and ex situ conservation of our rarest plants.
What kinds of projects does the KYPCA work on?
We work with our partners to prevent plant extinction and extirpation through in situ and ex situ conservation projects with a central goal of preventing local extinctions. Projects activities can include surveys, monitoring, direct management (invasive species removal/prescribed fire), restoration, seed banking, propagation, introductions, research and outreach. Projects are focused on rare plants that are in most need of immediate conservation action in order to prevent extinction from the state. The rare plant priority list was created by Kentucky Rare Plant Committee, continually updated, and is also the proposed list to add to the Kentucky State Wildlife Action Plan in the next few years. Plants are prioritized by rarity, lack of site protection or appropriate management, and other threats. Since rare plants are a part of larger natural communities, management and restoration of natural areas and partnerships with land managers is key to all projects. Some recent projects include rare plant propagation, native clover conservation, white haired goldenrod community science monitoring and management, roadside rare plant surveys, wood lily and Pine Barrens restoration, rare plant listing and prioritization working groups, and working with partners to add plants to Kentucky’s state wildlife action plan.
How does the KYPCA connect?
The KYPCA connects to partners by coordinating rare plant and community focused meetings and symposiums; coordinating workshops and field work days; providing updates to the KNPS monthly Ladyslipper newsletter and the OKNP quarterly newsletter; through OKNP, KYPCA, and KNPS social media pages; and through our websites www.kypca.knps.org and www.naturepreserves.ky.gov.
How to get involved?
If you would like to get involved with these efforts, contact us at KYPCA@knps.org and formally join our alliance! Please join the Kentucky Native Plant Society and sign up for the KNPS and OKNP newsletters to find out about volunteer opportunities and updates from recent projects. The KNPS is offering small grants to directly help with the KYPCA efforts such as rare plant propagation, and inventory/monitoring of natural areas. Please contact us if you are interested in applying for a grant. If you are an organization and are interested in formally joining, please send us your partnership logo and website info so we can add you to our partner page. Projects that we need particular help with include volunteer coordination, conservation horticulture projects, as well as monitoring and management projects on public and private lands.
