The primary purposes of the preserve are to protect rare species, conduct scientific research, protect and restore natural communities, foster environmental education, and protect and interpret historical/archaeological resources from an important chapter in the history of Clark County and the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky.
The preserve consists of 441 acres in Clark County, Kentucky. It is operated and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers and a part-time preserve manager. All expenses to operate and maintain the preserve and host hikes and other events come from donations. This property is home to populations of rare plants and irreplaceable historical and archaeological features.
The preserve is located in a limestone gorge formed by Lower Howard’s Creek, which has been designated as a Kentucky Exceptional Waterway. The deep, twisting gorge is one of the most scenic places in the Bluegrass Region. Lower Howard’s Creek is a unique area due to its geology, biodiversity and cultural resources.
The bedrock is mostly limestone from the Lower and Middle Ordovician period deposited between 450 and 480 million years ago. Two important building stones outcrop along the creek: one is a whitish-colored stone known as “birdseye limestone,” the other is a tan to grayish dolomite called “Kentucky River marble.” In 2022 the Geologic Society of Kentucky designated the preserve a Distinguished Geologic Site, only the 5th such designation in the state.
The preserve, now largely covered by second growth forest, is home to over 200 species of plants. From moist cliff faces to the riparian corridor of the meandering creek, ecological communities teem with diverse plant species that reflect their environmental conditions. Rare plants found in the preserve include water stitchwort, running buffalo clover, Kentucky viburnum, white walnut and nodding rattlesnake-root. River otter, beaver, deer, coyote, bobcat, gray bat and evening bat have been identified in the preserve. Fish include rainbow darter, scarlet shiner and logperch.
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