Research topics are as diverse as the preserves themselves and can include investigating specific questions that have arisen as preserve management issues, inventorying plants and animals, population studies, cave mapping, studying water quality and quantity or conducting forest health assessments. There are many benefits to conducting research on a state nature preserve. The dedication law that protects the preserves in perpetuity makes them more attractive to researchers seeking a stable site for long-term study. Funds to support research are available through the Sherri Evans Memorial Fund and the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board. Preserve management staff is available to provide some assistance with project logistics. Contact the nature preserves branch manager or the appropriate regional preserve manager for more information.

Educational opportunities are available on those preserves open to the general public. Teachers and professors are encouraged to take advantage of these “outdoor classrooms” for instructional use in any discipline. With a little imagination, subjects such as art, music, math and social studies as well as biology can be enhanced in a natural setting. While no curricula have been developed specifically for use at the majority of the preserves, the Kentucky Environmental Education Council and the Jefferson County Public School System have examples and sources of materials for use on-site.

For those who would like to explore the preserves from the Internet, we will be developing “virtual tours” of some of the preserves, providing information on the rare species and unique features of each site. Watch this space for more information!

Since the commission began tracking permits in 1991, more than 100 have been issued to researchers studying all facets of Kentucky’s environment. Research projects have included species inventories, genetic analysis of rare plants, seed germination studies, water quality assessments and soil analysis in association with prescribed burns. About 10 permits are currently active across the 21,589 acres of the preserve system.

• Paul Marek, a Ph.D. candidate at East Carolina University, has just renewed his permit to survey millipeds in the genus Brachoria. Kentucky has the second highest species diversity of this genus in the country. Paul is also studying the general milliped composition of the Appalachian Mountains. In 2003, he collected five specimens at Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve and has collected 192 specimens across 13 states.

• Dr. Jonathon W. Gassett from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Dr. David Maehr from the University of Kentucky were issued a permit in 2001 to work on our Pine Mountain preserves for their investigation of the distribution, abundance, genetic diversity, movement patterns and natural history of black bears in southeastern Kentucky. Kyle Napier, the southeast preserve manager, has been involved in baiting trees with peanut butter to attract bears. The trees are surrounded with barbed wire. When a bear brushes the wire, it leaves hair samples for DNA analysis. This exciting five-year project will answer questions in an area where little is known.

• Tracy Hawkins, a U.S. Forest Service ecologist, was issued a permit in 1997 to investigate the fire history of Hi Lewis Pine Barrens State Nature Preserve in Harlan County. In 2004, she revisited the sites with a new project studying effects of the southern pine beetle infestation.

We would like to thank everyone involved in all past and current projects and encourage future studies. Many questions have been answered that help us manage the preserve system’s natural communities and rare species. With every new preserve, more questions arise. Permits are available through Joyce Bender, branch manager for Nature Preserves and Natural Areas.