Pine Mountain Trail

 

Green salamander by John MacGregor
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great eastern trail

View from Knobby Rock (Blanton Forest) by Marc Evans
Pine Mountain represents one of the last great contiguous stretches of unfragmented forest in Kentucky. While other parts of the region have been developed, strip-mined or heavily logged, Pine Mountain remains relatively untouched. Positioned at the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains, the mountain offers commanding views of Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee. If ever there was a hope of preserving an ecological legacy for future generations of Kentuckians, this is it. The mountain has remained a refuge in the face of increasing human intrusion, mainly because it is a rugged, nearly roadless mountain that is guarded by jutting sandstone cliffs, tangled rhododendron thickets and large, pre-historic land slides laden with car-sized boulders. Even when deer and turkey were driven out of most of the region, Pine Mountain remained a refuge for wildlife native to the area. Today the mountain serves as the travel corridor for black bear re-entering the state from Virginia and Tennessee. It provides habitat for the newly restored elk, and is the home of many Kentucky species that are restricted to Pine Mountain (i.e. rose pogonia, frostweed and the largest known population of yellow wild indigo in the Commonwealth). Breached by only six roads in 110 miles, the mountain represents a significant unprotected wilderness area.

PMTC is a Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor project partner. This is the largest landscape level project ever undertaken in Kentucky. The goals is to ensure a forested corridor that connects existing protected areas and maintains the ecological and migratory corridor which is important for bears, flying squirrels, raptors, songbirds and numerous other plants and animals. Learn more about the project by visiting the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust.

 
PMTC • P.O. Box 784 • Whitesburg, KY 41858 • info@pinemoutaintrail.com
Last Updated: February 27, 2010