The Boone Conservancy has acquired 350 acres of land on the Ohio River for conservation and recreation.
The property is in Petersburg, Ky., across from already-protected natural areas at Oxbow, Inc. in Indiana, and Shawnee Lookout in Ohio.
“This connects across the Ohio River for a giant conservation corridor,” Executive Director Christy Noll said. “The essence of this project was to bring more conserved land together across the three states.”
The area is a big thoroughfare for migratory waterfowl, Noll says. Endangered river mussels, Indiana bats, gray bats and rock snails also live on the land and in the nearby river.
Recent economic development in Boone County, like the Amazon Air hub, put the property at risk for development, according to the Conservancy.
“We want to keep it a great habitat for all these animals,” Noll said.
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The nonprofit will spend the next year doing environmental and archaeological studies.
It already knows the property houses the ruins of Revolutionary War veteran Jacob Piatt’s estate, and the graves of his family and people he enslaved. There are also three Native American sites on the land.
“We need to find out exactly what's there, protect it, and then, we'd like to quantify all of it so we can have some community education regarding the history of the property,” Noll said.
Noll says the long-term goal is for people to be able to access the land and the riverfront.
“I feel like this could be a cornerstone of conservation and environmental education, but at the same time for outdoor access and recreation,” Noll said.
That will likely start with establishing a spot for paddlers to stop on the Ohio.