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Revision as of 23:06, 20 December 2024 by Bigturtle (talk | contribs) (New article)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Lilley Cornett Woods | |
|---|---|
  Map of Kentucky | |
| Location | Whitesburg, Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 37°05′16″N 82°59′33″W / 37.0879°N 82.9925°W / 37.0879; -82.9925 |
| Area | 659 acres (267 ha) |
| Established | 1971 |
| Governing body | Eastern Kentucky University |
| U.S. National Natural Landmark | |
| Designated | 1971 |
Lilley Cornett Woods is a 659-acre forested land parcel within Letcher County, Kentucky. Of the overall parcel, 252 acres are classified as old growth forest and listed as a National Natural Landmark (NNL). The overall parcel is owned by, and the NNL is protected by, Eastern Kentucky University.
Description
The Lilley Cornett Woods are a surviving example of the forest growth of the Appalachian Mountains. Eastern Kentucky University, which operates the Appalachian Economical Research Station within the parcel, reports that the parcel contains 72 woody plant species and 468 other plant species. This diversity affirms the old-growth status of the central wooded area within the parcel. The old-growth area has been disturbed by (i) longtime livestock-forestry interactions typical of Appalachian human ecology, and (ii) salvage logging of the blight-struck, dead and dying American chestnuts that used to live in the old-growth woods.
Surviving large trees in the old-growth section of the Lilley Cornett Woods include a white oak that has been tree-ring-dated to 1669, more than 350 years before the present. The Woods are named in honor of the parcel's longtime owner and guardian, a private citizen who is reported to have refused all offers from loggers. The State of Kentucky purchased the old-growth section of the land parcel from Cornett's heirs in 1969.
The Woods were named as a National Natural Landmark in 1971. They were initiated into the Old-Growth Forest Network in 2023.
References
- ^ "Sloughs WMA". app.fw.ky.gov. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2024.
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