Lilley Cornett Woods is a 659-acre forested land parcel within Letcher County, Kentucky. Of the overall parcel, 252 acres are classified as old growth forest and listed as a National Natural Landmark (NNL). The overall parcel is owned by the State of Kentucky, and the NNL is protected by the parcel's operator, Eastern Kentucky University.[1][2]
| Lilley Cornett Woods | |
|---|---|
  Map of Kentucky | |
| Location | Whitesburg, Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 37°05′16″N 82°59′33″W / 37.0879°N 82.9925°W[1] |
| Area | 659 acres (267 ha)[1] |
| Established | 1969[1] |
| Governing body | Eastern Kentucky University[1] |
| Designated | 1971 |
Description
editThe Lilley Cornett Woods are a surviving example of the forest growth of the Cumberland Mountains. Dominant large trees include beech, hickory, white oak, and chestnut oak.[2] Eastern Kentucky University, which operates the Appalachian Ecological Research Station within the parcel, reports that the parcel contains 72 woody plant species and 468 other plant species.[1] This diversity affirms the old-growth status of the central wooded area within the parcel. Prior to 1969, the old-growth area was disturbed by (i) longtime livestock-forestry interactions typical of Appalachian human ecology,[1] and (ii) 20th-century salvage logging of the blight-struck, dead and dying American chestnuts that used to live in the old-growth woods.[2]
Surviving large trees in the old-growth section of the Lilley Cornett Woods include a white oak that has been tree-ring-dated to 1669, more than 350 years before the present.[1] The Woods are named in honor of the parcel's longtime owner and guardian, a private citizen who is reported to have refused all offers from loggers. As a surviving old-growth woodland, the Woods were celebrated by local environmental advocate Harry M. Caudill.[2] The state of Kentucky purchased the old-growth section of the land parcel from Cornett's heirs in 1969.[1]
The Lilley Cornett Woods are managed with minimal additional human disturbance for scientific purposes. Researchers have a bunkhouse/laboratory station to maintain their research projects.[2] Non-scientist access to the old-growth segment of the Woods is by guided tour only. A self-guided 0.5-mile loop trail invites unsupervised access to a verge section of the Woods adjacent to the old growth.[2] The Woods were named as a National Natural Landmark in 1971. They were initiated into the Old-Growth Forest Network in 2023.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lilley Cornett Woods Appalachian Research Station Initiated into the Old-Growth Forest Network". Eastern Kentucky University. Richmond, Kentucky. June 13, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Honeycutt, Scott (November 28, 2023). "Lilley Cornett Woods: The Hill Country's Legacy". applachianplaces.org. East Tennessee State University. Retrieved December 20, 2024.