Kentucky's Diverse Lands, Waters, and Wildlife
Diversity is the keyword when describing Kentucky. The rugged mountains and valleys with flat ridge tops found in the east contrast sharply compared to the flat bottom lands and sloughs of the west. Between these extremes can be found the cave country surrounding Mammoth Cave and the gently rolling hills of the Bluegrass Region.
Kentucky's wide variety of terrestrial habitat types, ranging from highland forests, grassland barrens, and swamps, supports a variety of animals. Small headwater streams, winding creeks, and the expansive Ohio and Mississippi Rivers support an even more diverse group of fish and mussels.
Kentucky's Planning Approach
Kentucky’s wildlife action plan identifies priority conservation actions for both terrestrial and aquatic habitat guilds. Protecting habitat through acquisition, easements, or economic incentives with private landowners is an important strategy across species and habitat groups, as is developing partnerships with other state and federal agencies and other conservation organizations in order to protect habitat. There is also a great need for long-term monitoring of at-risk species to detect population trends for species that currently lack long-term data sets. This is particularly true for aquatic species and reptiles & amphibians.
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
