James E. Bickford SNP
Dedicated on 30 June 2003, the James E. Bickford State Nature Preserve encompasses 348 acres on the north face of Pine Mountain in Harlan County. The preserve is named in honor of the former Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary James E. Bickford. The preserve is located on the grounds of the historic Pine Mountain Settlement School, a highly regarded community education facility founded in 1913. The preserve protects a relatively high quality mixed mesophytic forest, the typical natural community found on the north face of Pine Mountain. The preserve also protects Sawmill Hollow Cave, a small cave that developed in the limestone layer that is exposed on the north face of Pine Mountain. Additionally, the preserve supports a diverse invertebrate fauna including two rare beetles and two species new to science. Six rare plant species, including red-twig doghobble (Leucothoe recurvaand) American golden-saxifrage (Chrysosplenium americanum), are known to occur on the preserve.
For access to the James E. Bickford SNP, please contact the Pine Mountain Settlement School.
Pine Mountain Settlement School Events Schedule.
