Protecting Land Between the Lakes

www.kentucky.sierraclub.org
July 2014
Volume 48, Issue 7
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TheCumberland
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Protecting Land Between the Lakes
The US Forest Service is proposing a logging project that has significant implications for this area
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communities. The Forest Service currently burns about 8,000 to 10,000
acres a year, including for 8,630 acres of
dedicated Oak-Grassland Demonstration Areas. However, they insist that
almost all of the Pisgah Bay area (and
LBL in general) needs to be logged,
burned, and treated with herbicides to
mimic "historic" conditions. Some
believe this to be a controversial theory
that has been used to an extreme to
justify logging and a large fire management budget, and that the Forest Service needs to be restoring bottomland
and lowland forests that were largely
lost when much of the area was flooded to create the lakes.
The LBL is a record holder in the
region by having an astounding 20,000
acres of fields, prairies, “oak-grassland”
areas, and in a very controversial prac(continued on page 5)
Carbon Rules Hearing
Come to Atlanta on July 29 to Ask the EPA for Strong Regulations
n June 2nd, the Obama
administration took its
biggest step to date to cut
greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA
released its proposed regulations to
cut CO2 emissions f rom existing
power plants. This news was
extremely important for a coal-centric state like Kentucky, which is
ground-zero for the carbon fight.
The rules are aimed at cutting
carbon emissions f rom all power
plants, but are particularly focused
on coal-fired facilities.
This is the latest in a series of
actions to control climate change.
Last September, the EPA
O
announced CO2 limits for new
power plants, and the comment
period for those rules was recently
concluded.
The impact of these rules on
Kentucky will be large. Over 90% of
Kentucky’s electricity comes from
coal, and while the Sierra Club has
had a huge influence on cleaning up
many dirty power plants in Kentucky,
our carbon impact in the state is still
quite large. Electricity generation
accounts for one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and coal, the
most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, is
responsible for the majority of that.
(continued on page 5)
Photo by Alex DeSha
he Forest Service is proposing
commercial logging of 4,000
acres in the Pisgah Bay area –
an area of beautiful oak-hickory
forests and emerging old-growth
characteristics in Land Between the
Lakes. Along with logging, the Forest Service proposes 5,000 acres of
prescribed fire and an annual 600
acres of herbicide treatments on both
nonnative invasive plants and native
trees considered “undesirable” by the
Forest Service.
The comment period for the Pisgah Bay project has already passed, but
the Cumberland Chapter has submitted comments on behalf of our members and will be monitoring its
progress.
The forest service proposal contains several components, including
logging to create fire-adapted Oak
Exploring Clifty Wilderness on a spectacular June weekend....see story on page 6
Learn How You Can Support the
Carbon Regulations...
See details on page 5
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
P.O. Box 1368,
Lexington, KY 40588-1368
Permit No. 100
London, Ky
The Cumberland July 2014
page 2
Group News
Please enter from the Ransom Ave. side.
For further details, call Mary Carol
Cooper, 859-277-0656.
SOUTHERN UTAH
ADVENTURE
he
BLUEGRASS
Executive
meeting of the
Bluegrass
Group will be
held on MonDonna DePenning
(859) 268-2968
day, July 7, at
7:00pm. The
meeting will be held at Faith House, 836
Melrose Ave. behind Faith Lutheran
Church. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Call Jay Taylor, Group Chair, or Donna
DePenning, 859-268-2968 for details
and directions.
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Inner-City Outings
Our Inner-City Outings group will
meet on Monday, July 14, at 7:00 pm.
The group is planning some exciting outings for the summer. The meeting will be
at the home of Frankie and Oscar Geralds, 2173 Palomar Trace Drive, Lexington. Call Frankie or Oscar, 948-0118 or
264-8903, for further details.
General Meeting: Adventures in
Southern Utah
For our General meeting, July 21,
long time Sierra Club members, Suzanne
and Ramesh Bhatt will show slides and
talk about their trip to southern Utah in
2009. The slides will include visits to
Zion, Bryce, and Capital Reef National
Parks and Kodachrome State Park. Utah
is as photogenic as it gets, and the combination of mountains, rivers, desert, rock
formations, and remoteness is awe inspiring. We will meet at 7:00 pm, back in our
usual meeting place at Second Presbyterian Church in Lexington, located at the
corner of Main St and Ransom Ave.
The
Cumberland
Book Group
The Bluegrass Book Club will meet
on July 17 to discuss this month’s selection which, in an uncharacteristic tardiness, has yet to be decided. In addition
to the opinions being served, there will be
refreshments. The group will meet at
7:00 pm, in the home of Ray and Mary
Barry, 3415 Snaffle Road, Lexington,
phone: 859-223-0180.
Dinner Out
The “Dinner Out with Sierrans”
group will meet in a local restaurant on
July 24. Join us at 7:00 pm for a great
dinner and good company. To find out
where we will be, please contact Mary
Barry, 859-223-0180 or [email protected].
BERNHEIM
ARBORETUM
reater Louisville July Program:
Please
join us GREATER LOUISVILLE
at our annual
picnic, Thursday, July 24, 6
p.m.
at
Louisville
Steve Henry
(502) 894-8029
Nature Center,
3745 Illinois
Avenue, across from the Louisville Zoo.
Our special guest and speaker will be
Mark K. Wourms, PhD., Executive
Director of Bernheim Arboretum and
Research Forest.
This is the second year we are having
the picnic at Louisville Nature Center.
Weather permitting, we’ll again plan to
G
A monthly publication of the Cumberland Chapter
of the Sierra Club, Kentucky
P.O. Box 1368, Lexington, KY, (859) 296-4335, Fax (859) 233-4099, E-Mail [email protected]
Editorial Committee
Frankie Geralds
Lane Boldman
Oscar Geralds
Alice Howell
Terese Pierskalla
Joey Shadowen
Carl Vogel
David Allen
Advertising Coordinator
Oscar Geralds
2173 Palomar Trace Dr.
Lexington, KY 40513
(859) 264-8903 [email protected]
Outings Coordinator
Ron Colwell
859-912-5879
[email protected]
Change of Address
Send old and new addresses with
mailing label (or member number)
to:
Sierra Club,
P.O. Box 52968
Boulder, CO 80322-2968
Deadlines
The deadline for all materials is the
second Thursday of this month.
The deadline date for submission
of articles to the August
issue of The Cumberland is
July 10, 2014
Visit us on the web at www.kentucky.sierraclub.org
Contributors’ Guidelines
Please submit articles typed, on disk,
or e-mailed to address above, according to the following:
1. Double-spaced, not to exceed 700
words (3 double-spaced pages.)
2. Author’s first and last names, day
and evening phone numbers at the
top.
3. Articles on disk or e-mailed should
be accompanied by double-spaced
hard copy.
The editor reserves the right to trim
or revise for reasons of clarity, space
or libel.
The Cumberland is printed on
recycled paper.
eat outside. However, we do have the
option of cooling off or eating inside if
necessary. As usual, our meal will be a
potluck. Greater Louisville Sierra Club
will provide two main dishes (one meat,
one vegetarian) and one main beverage.
Please bring some food of your choosing
to share. Also, we ask that you bring your
own reusable eating/drinking ware. Sorry,
alcoholic beverages are not permitted.
Bernheim Arboretum and Research
Forest, founded in 1929, is made up of
14,000 acres of forest and a 250-acre
arboretum, with 35 miles of hiking trails.
It is located in Bullitt County, 25 miles
south of Louisville. Bernheim’s woodlands, prairies, and wetlands make up the
largest privately-owned natural area in
Kentucky.
Dr. Mark Wourms is a botanist and
ecologist by training. He came to Kentucky in 2008 after serving as chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County
Arboretum and Botanic Garden and
before that as director of the Kansas City
Zoo.
Our programs, including our picnic,
are free and open to the public. Please join
us.
Social Dinner
When: Friday, July 18, 2014 at 7:00
p.m. Where: Vietnam Kitchen, 5339
Mitscher Ave. Please contact Judy Lyons
@502-585-3806 or Gloria KemperO’Neil @502-458-5253 before noon
Thursday prior to dinner to allow for
accurate reservations.
It Pays to Advertise in
The
Cumberland
only $10.00 / column inch
(Minimum ad size is 3 inches)
Column sizes
1 column = 2.29” 3 columns = 7.20”
2 columns = 4.75” 4 columns = 9.66”
Depth of page = 11”
Deadlines
Camera ready ad or digital file must be
submitted by the second Thursday of
the month for the next month’s issue.
For advertising info contact:
Oscar Geralds Jr.
2173 Palomar Trace Drive,
Lexington, KY. 40503. 859-264-8903
SUMMER VACATION
he Northern Kentucky Group ExCom
will not
N O RT H E R N
be meeting in
July. If you
have any questions or comments for the
Kim Luber
Group Ex(859) 344-8713
Com please do
not hesitate to contact the Group Chairperson
Rich
Koster
at
[email protected].
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Clean Out and Help Out
Saturday July 12 – Newport Yard
Sale! Is your basement or garage full?
Bring your gently used items to Chris and
Tom Comte’s home to be sold at their
community-wide yard sale! The funds
raised will be donated to our Sierra Club
group. Please no clothing. Plan to drop
off your items with their prices to Chris
and Tom on Friday evening. Help is also
needed on Saturday! For more information please contact Chris Comte at
[email protected]
Important Date Change!
Saturday July 19 at 10:00 a.m. is the
date for our July General Meeting. Join
us at the Fernald Preserve, 7400 Wiley
Rd, Harrison, Ohio. Fernald, until 1989,
was a nuclear production site and is now a
green-space park that includes wetlands
and praires. The Group will meet at the
Visitors Center. The tour will include
information about the site’s history as a
home for Native Americans, early settlers
and a farming community. Discussions
will also carry forward to its time as a uranium production center and as a cleanup
site including the ongoing ecological
restoration. Please RSVP to Karen
Upton
at
[email protected] contact
Rich Koster at [email protected]
Dinner With Friends
Thursday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m.
What’s for Dinner? The Northern Kentucky Group will gather for a social
evening of great food, friends and community at main bite 522 Main Street
Covington, KY. Chef Margie Potts
serves American small plates utilizing
community ingredients and vendors.
These delicious dishes provide a great
opportunity to share and taste a variety of
offerings. RSVP to Chris Comte at
[email protected].
The Cumberland July 2014
Flowing River Days
Saturday August 2 at 10:00 a.m.
Paddle the Licking River and learn about
Mussels. Dr. Monte McGregor, Aquatic
Scientist / Malacologist with KY Dept of
Fish & Wildlife Resources, Center for
Mollusk Conservation will lead the discussion during this easy class 1 paddle.
The paddle is suitable for those with little
or no canoe experience but it is expected
to last 2-3 hours. Dr. McGregor will
identify many species of mussels found in
the streambed and will explain their
importance to water quality and the river’s
health. For more information and to
RSVP please contact Paul Buelterman,
859-371-0028 or [email protected]
Experience Summer Nights
Sunday, August 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Gather at St. Anne Woods and Wetlands
Center located in Melbourne, Ky, to
explore this preserved wetland with outing leader Don Becher and Bill Thoeny,
an entomologist. The evening will start
with a hike taking in the area’s trees, birds
and insects and a hike through the wetlands, conditions permitting. After a
break at the Silver Grove Dairy Bar to
enjoy some yummy creamy whip, hikers
will return to the wetlands to explore the
nighttime insects. RSVP’s are required.
Please contact the outing leader, Don
Becher at [email protected] or 859291-8405.
PICNIC POT LUCK
he July 15 meeting for the Mammoth
Cave
Group will be MAMMOTH CAVE
a BYOLawn
Chair,
Towel and
Picnic
Pot
Eleanor Bower
Luck for
(270) 793-9011
the Pool
Party at the
home of Tom and Stephanie Morris 1019 Lois Lane (that’s off of Smallhouse
Rd.) in Bowling Green 42104. Usually
we take the month of July off as far as
meetings go, but Tom and Stephanie
said, “Well, Why not? We have a pool
that is underused and let’s just have a
party in July”! So we are inviting all
members and non, plus the folks from
KY for the Commonwealth Bowling
Green group to join us on July 15. Pool
will open at 5:30pm. Please let Tom and
Stephanie know if you are coming and
how many so they can have enough ice
and drinks for all. 270-843-5710.
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Energy Innovations
Other news from the Bowling Green
page 3
Group is that Jim Duffer and Tom Morris went to Glasgow in April for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Glasgow
Regional Landfill Methane Gas Recovery
and Utilization Project. The project will
remove methane gas from the landfill
and convert it to electricity to power
about 500 homes. The system is projected to generate 7.5 million kilowatt hours
each year. This project is one of the
“green” programs being put forward by
Glasgow Mayor, Rhonda Trautman. This interest of Mayor Trautman in
environmental issues has won her an
appointment by Governor Beshear to a
KY State environmental committee. I
talked with the mayor and our Mammoth
Cave group would like to meet with Sierra Club members who live in the Glasgow area, to join with the mayor for a discussion about the environmental committee and any other environmental interests
she might have for the city of Glasgow.
We want to encourage anyone who is
working toward clean energy. If any Glasgow area Sierra Club
members are reading this, and would like
to meet with us in August or September please contact Eleanor Bower, 270-7939011 or Tom Morris 270 843-5710. We
are in the planning stages for this meeting. THE FUTURE IS IN
OUR NATION
he power of friends—and volunteers—in promoting a love of
nature
was the theme G R E A T R I V E R S
of the June
meeting of the
Great Rivers
Group of the
Ken Wolf
Sierra Club in
(270) 293-5502
Murray
on
June 4.
“The future is in our nature,” noted
speaker John Rufli, Executive Director,
Friends of the Land Between the Lakes
Association, as he described how this
organization supports the 170,000 acre,
40 mile long and 8 mile wide Land
Between the Lakes, now celebrating its
50th anniversary.
The Friends organization, itself celebrating 30 years, originally began as a
fund-raising and advocacy organization.
With the arrival of the U.S. Forest Service as manager of LBL in 2000, the role
of the Friends group greatly expanded.
They now staff the Woodlands
Nature Station, an attraction for adults
and school groups, and keep track of new
births at the 700-acre Elk and Bison
Prairie. In addition, Friends and many
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volunteers work at the Homeplace, an
1850s living-history farm that demonstrates cooking, gardening, and farming
of the early settlers of this region.
Beyond that, Friends of LBL sponsors boat cruises on both Kentucky and
Barkley Lakes, as well as canoe trips on
the smaller, evocative Honker Lake. The
Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory is also operated by the Friends,
whose 250 volunteers log 12, 000 hours
of work each year, supplementing a paid
staff of 51 people.
The Sixth Extinction
In other business, Great Rivers
Group members heard a report by member Ray Smith on Elizabeth Colbert, The
Sixth Extinction (Henry Holt: 2014).
Colbert, the science writer for the New
Yorker magazine, describes the five major
extinctions of species in the history of the
earth, and notes that a sixth extinction
may be under way, aided by man-made
climate changes. Her book has been
called “the Silent Spring of our day.”
The book review will become a feature of future meetings of the Great
Rivers Group.
Recycled Furniture
Nancy Phillips noted that a maker of
strong outdoor furniture made entirely
from recycled plastic bottles in Branson,
Missouri, can be contacted at www.outdoorwonders.net.
Nature Conservancy
Shelley Morris, a representative of
the Nature Conservancy in Kentucky, will
be the featured speaker at the September
3rd meeting. The Group will not meet in
July and will have its Locals Foods dinner
/ picnic in August.
A WALK IN THE PARK
n April we held a nature walk with
Girls Inc. at Yellow Creek Park.
During the
week of April
PENNYRILE
19th to April
27th we had
something
every day. on
Saturday April
Rick Fowler
26th we had
(270) 635-3188
our annual
demonstration for Earth Day wheere we
had a crowd of perhaps 30 or more.
During that earth day week we had a
table at the Owensboro library as well as
a film showing. In May, Tom Pierce of
the Beyond Coal campaign sponsored a
booth at the International BBQ Fest in
Owensboro.
I
Cumberland
Chapter:
Who to Call
Administrative:
Cumberland Chapter Chair
Judy Lyons
502-585-3806
[email protected]
Chapter Coordinator and
Conservation Manager
Sherry Otto
859-296-4335
[email protected]
Issues:
Conservation Chair (all issues):
Betsy Bennett 502-228-1870
[email protected]
Energy Chair:
Wallace McMullen
502-271-7045
[email protected]
Mining/Mountaintop
Mining Co-Chairs:
Alice Howell, 859-420-8092,
Lane Boldman, 859-552-1173
[email protected]
Legal Chair:
Randy Strobo
[email protected]
502-417-0781
Legislative:
Ruth Bamberger
859-291-2976
[email protected]
Political:
Joan Lindop
[email protected]
Recreation:
Outings Program Chair:
Ron Colwell
859-912-5879
[email protected]
Media/Public Relations:
Sherry Otto: 859-296-4335
Lane Boldman: 859-552-1173
[email protected]
For more informaton on
committees, issues, and leaders, visit our
website at www.kentucky.sierraclub.org
The Cumberland July 2014
page 4
The Whippoorwill Festival — July 10-13 Near Berea
by Dave Cooper
hen I first launched my
Whippoorwill Festival in
2011, I hoped that it
would grow and be popular in a few
years. Similar and well-established
events like the Earth Skills Gathering in Georgia or the Firefly Gathering in Asheville, North Carolina,
which teach old time and primitive
skills (primitive tool-making, making
moccasins and sandals, etc.) are wildly popular with a certain crowd of
people. I went to Firefly in 2010 and liked
it, but I wished that it was a little more
open and inviting to people in the
mainstream of society who were just
starting their own life journey towards
a sustainable, happier and more earthfriendly life. I wanted a life with less
time driving or working on the computer and more time playing in the
garden, and I felt like many other Kentuckians probably did too. So I started my own festival. It’s
sure been a fun ride. The first year of Whippoorwill, we
had a smallish crowd but people
seemed to really enjoy it. I got a lot of
good feedback and people encouraged
me to do it again in 2012. Excellent
Appalachian and mountain music and
evening speakers, including Gatewood
Galbraith and Lexington HeraldLeader cartoonist Joel Pett helped give
my festival some credibility and things
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generally went very
well, considering it
was the first year. The second
year, the crowd
grew by thirty percent. Now in its
fourth year, the
Whippoorwill Festival has grown
tremendously. Last
year we had 500
people attend, and
advance ticket sales
for the 2014 festival have been very strong. We have
worked through some complicated
logistical problems and improved the
infrastructure of the campsite, and I
think this year will be the biggest success yet. It’s been fun to watch it grow, and
many Sierra Club members have
helped make it grow. Jerry Redden has been leading a
workshop on composting toilets for
three years, Carl Vogel taught Basic
Bicycle Maintenance, Ramesh and
Suzanne Bhatt taught Indian Cooking, Patty taught how to make Kim
Chi (Korean fermented cabbage)
and Sauerkraut, and this year Mary
Carol Cooper will lead a crew building a Rain Garden and Butterfly and
Monarch Way Station. Many Sierra Club members have
also helped out by
volunteering at
the festival, taking
tickets and helping set up the site.
Thank you to all
the volunteers!
Whippoorwill is held at a
private campground called
HomeGrown
HideAways, about
15 minutes from
Berea in a deep
hollow on the
edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It is
a truly beautiful spot, surrounded by
knobs in the Red Lick Valley running
over to Irvine. This year we have booked over
75 workshops, the festival is much
bigger, and I can’t help but be excited
about the topics for this year’s festival. Evening music includes Lexington’s popular Big Maracas, Nashville
singer/songwriters Jeni & Billy, and
a wonderful singer Maggie Lander.
To honor the Appalachian roots of
this festival, we will have a contra
dance and pie auction and a cake
walk – and banjo music with Eric
George.
Whippoorwill is a family-friendly
event – kids under 16 are free and alcohol use is discouraged – the price is
moderate and includes meals, tent
camping, parking, all of the workshops
and entertainment etc. This year there will be a children’s
stage with music, puppet shows and
more. The festival was inspired by the
book “Last Child in the Woods” by
Richard Louv, and its call to get more
kids playing into the outdoors. There
is a nice creek at the campground and
kids love to play in the creek and build
dams and climb trees. I want to help small and microbusinesses grow in Appalachia through
my festival, and I’ve tried to support
these businesses. Many of the workshop leaders are promoting their businesses, such as making soap from goat’s
milk. Berea’s reputation for Appalachian
craftsmanship has also helped the festival grow regionally, and we are continuing to build relationships with local
small businesses and craftspeople who
will sell their goods at the festival. The
Whippoorwill Festival is held the same
weekend as the big Berea Craft Festival
at Indian Fort Theater, so that people
can go to both events. The Whippoorwill Festival is now attracting people from as far away as New York and
Vermont. Workshops are listed on the festival website www.whippoorwillfest.com
along with a complete schedule of
events.
2014 Whippoorwill Confirmed Workshops Include:
Home Canning & Advanced Home Canning * Consent * Radical Education * Kombucha * Wilderness First Aid * Hunting Edible Wild Mushrooms * Basic
Bicycle Maintenance * Dumpstering * Ecological Design/Forest Gardening Walk * Scything * Straw Bale Construction * Make Your Own River Cane Flute *
Cooking Without Tools * Cooking Over an Open Fire: Cast Iron and Dutch Ovens * Making Cheese * Group Decision-Making and Facilitation * How To Purify
Water/Survival Techniques * How Not To Get Lost in the Woods * Living Without a Fridge * Permaculture in Action: Off Grid, Natural Building and No-Till
Farming * Puppet Building * Seven Herbal Allies to Survive the 21st Century * Rain Gardens & Building a Monarch Butterfly Waystation * Field Trip: Solar-Powered Home Construction and Learning to Live Off the Grid * Flint Knapping * Atl Atl and Spear * Walk: Roots and Non-Timber Forest Products * Indian Curry
Cooking * Non-Toxic Cleaning * Reclaiming Your Grandma’s Fats: Healing With Lard, Tallow and More * Healing Illness Through the Gut with Food and
Herbs * Songwriting Circle * Breadmaking on an Open Fire * Nature Walk for Kids and Families * Shaker Singing * Hammock Camping * Astronomy and Star
Gazing * Recycling Humanure * Confronting the Fast Food Industry * Hackeysack * Confronting Privilege * The Root of All Resistance * Animal Rights and
Speciesism * Back-Saving Posture Techniques for Hard Labor * Stick Tag * Living Gluten Free * Mountaintop Removal and the Citizen Opposition Movement *
Living in a School Bus * Rocket Stoves * Make Your Own Toothpaste and Shampoo * Make Mead Like a Viking * Earthships * Quitting Facebook * Earth Evolution and Gaia Theory * Storytelling: Bioregional Folk Tales * Solar Powered Clothes Dryer * Making Protest Signs * Fermenting Kim Chi and Sauerkraut * Simple Living: Getting Your Needs Met * Joule Thief * Tiny Houses * Foraging For Beauty * Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail * Wildflower Walk * DIY Happiness
* Massage Therapy for Dogs and Cats- and Horses * Thai Massage * The Power of Birth: Doulas, Intactivism, Babywearing, and more * Conscious Parenting *
Making Art from Japanese Bush Honeysuckle * Identifying Summer Wildflowers * Making Things from Old Pallets * Tarot Reading * Cordage
We hope to see you there!
The Cumberland July 2014
page 5
...Carbon Regulations
(from page 1)
Over the next year the EPA will
be doing outreach for comments on
the rules. You can participate in a
number of ways: see the boxes below
and at right.
Each state will be expected to
come up with a state-specific plan
for implementation based on the
guidance from the EPA. This could
create an enormous amount of political pressure on Kentucky’s Energy
and Environment Cabinet. The
Cabinet has already produced two
whitepapers earlier this year in anticipation of the rules.
While the carbon rules will be
controversial for many in this state, it
provides the state with new opportunities, and will reinvigorate the
debate about the diversification of
Kentucky’s energy supply. We have a
tremendous potential in Kentucky
for promoting new energy efficiency
initiatives for example. Now that the
regulations have been published, this
gives even more justification for a
sound energy policy that promotes
efficiency and renewables.
For the Cumberland Chapter,
these rules are the culmination of a
process that began well over a decade
ago, when the Bush Administration
announced plans for a new wave of
power plants in 2001 (a wave that
was severely curbed by the Sierra
Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, and
the Cumberland Chapter’s pioneer
work on coal plants prior to that
campaign). The Cumberland Chapter and its allies will be fully engaged
in this debate, and we welcome your
participation. If you are interested in
helping support strong carbon regulations for Kentucky, please contact
Wallace McMullen, Cumberland
Chapter Energ y Chair, at
[email protected].
Come Support the Carbon Regulations in Atlanta!
The EPA will be having several regional meetings with the public
on these carbon regulations. We are sending groups of supporters to the Atlanta (Region 4) EPA office on July 29th.
If you are interested in joining us, contact Alex DeSha at
[email protected]
Sierra Club Members: You Can Make a
Difference! Voice your support for the
new carbon rules
1. Carbon pollution is the main contributor to climate change;
40% comes from coal-fired power plants.
2. The new rules enable Kentucky to lessen its dependence on
coal by developing strategies to lower carbon pollution, e.g.,
retiring aging power plants, setting greater energy efficiency standards, expanding renewables like solar, wind, hydroelectric, and
low impact biomass.
3. The new EPA rules would cut carbon pollution from the
power sector by 30% from 2005 levels.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
(when commenting, be sure to include this
Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602)
E-mail your comments to the EPA supporting the new rules
www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards
FAX comments to 202-566-9744
Mail comments to Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center
Mailcode 28221T, Att. Docket ID No. OAR-2013-0602
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington DC 20460
(comment period ends Oct. 2, 2014)
KENTUCKY IS 5000 SIERRANS STRONG!
5000 COMMENTS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
For additional information on the new carbon rules:
www.epa.gov oe www.sierraclub.org/carbon
...Land Between the Lakes
(from page 1)
tice, leased farmland. The Pisgah Bay
project would create more open lands
by logging maturing forest to supposedly help restore the endangered Price’s
Potato Bean. But there are lots of open
areas they could be using for such
restoration already.
The Pisgah Bay area has a mandate to close and “re-wild” excessive
roads, but the LBL is planning to not
only keep open an unneeded road, they
are also planning to add a new road, as
well as six miles of temporary logging
roads.
The Forest Service is also insisting
that the Pisgah Bay area needs to be
logged because the 2009 ice storm
"ravaged" the forest and has left an
unhealthy forest and unsafe conditions.
They state that "Dense forest conditions and large amounts of fallen
woody debris on the forest floor has
decreased access and visibility into the
forest interior." Ice storms are a natural
phenomenon with which our forests
have evolved. They are as natural as
wind and rain, very much unlike chainsaws, skidders, and roads. The storm
damaged areas have recovered nicely.
Many of the nicest forests planned for
the heaviest logging are open, walkable,
and beautiful.
The history of the LBL area in
recent times has been controversial.
The original damming of the rivers to
form Lake Barkley resulted in the evacuation and flooding of areas that had
formerly been known as the “Land
Between the Rivers.”
The area was to become Land
Between the Lakes National Recreation Area – a TVA experiment
designed to show a multiple-use
approach to recreational lands. Unlike a
national park, there were to be areas
where hunting would be allowed. Over
time, many other attractions were to be
developed, such as a buffalo range, and
a re-created 1850-style farm.
So what we have is an area that is
managed in a rather unusual way compared to other lands under the charge
of the Forest Service.
Many area residents resented the
condemnation of their lands, especially
when it was explained to them that
most of the area was not to be flooded
but rather to become a park. The former settlements of Tharpe, Tennessee;
Model, Tennessee; and Golden Pond,
Kentucky, were forcibly abandoned.
The Cumberland Chapter will be
watching the development of the Pisgah Bay plan, and we invite you to visit
and explore this unique area.
The Cumberland July 2014
page 6
Cumberland Chapter: Celebrating Clifty Wilderness
by Lane Boldman, Forest and Wilderness Chair
hanks to all who took the time to join the Cumberland Chapter for a
weekend to celebrate wilderness! We had over forty attendees for a
weekend exploring the trails in Clifty Wilderness. Folks were treated
to a celebratory dinner after a hard day of hiking, and had the opportunity to
hear from our leaders who helped to preserve this special area.
The weekend was part of a series of events nationwide in celebration of the
50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Participants heard from one of our
founding members, Carroll Tichenor, who recalled the original fight to save the
Red River Gorge in the 1960s. That fight was litigated by longtime member
Oscar Geralds, who also spoke at the event. From that original Gorge fight, a section of the land they fought to preseve was later designated as protected wilderness. Leaders Hank Graddy, Doug Hindman, and volunteer Ginny Guthrie
worked together in the 1980s to make that designation happen.
We had a great weekend of hiking, reminicing, and fun hanging out at Lago
Linda Hideaway in Beatteyville. Thanks to all of the great folks who volunteered
their time for this successful event!
Photos by Lane Boldman
T
Photo courtesy of Alex DeSha
Founding member Carroll Tichenor and longtime member Oscar Geralds reminisce about the
original fight to stop the Red River Gorge from being flooded.
Rangers from the Daniel Boone National Forest explained Kentucky’s Wilderness areas
Photos by Lane Boldman
Relaxing around the campfire
Sharing dinner with friends and newcomers
Rangers from the Daniel Boone National
Forest explained Kentucky’s Wilderness areas
The Cumberland July 2014
page 7
Photo by Lane Boldman
and the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Photo by Tommy Kemp
Former Conservation Chair Hank Graddy and former Chapter Chair Doug Hindman spoke
about the Club’s important role in the designation of Clifty Wilderness
Taking a break on the Osborne Bend trail in Clifty Wilderness
Taking time for a hike during the Driving Tour of Clifty and the Gorge
Photo by Lane Boldman
Photo by Lane Boldman
It’s time to celebrate!
Alex Bina is here to save the planet! (and have some cake!)
The Cumberland July 2014
page 8
Report on the June 7, 2014 Cumberland Chapter Executive Committee Meeting
he Executive Committee of
the Cumberland Chapter
Sierra Club met on June 7,
2014 at Bernheim Arboretum with
11 of 13 members present.
Andy McDonald, President of
Kentucky Conservation Committee,
made a presentation about the composition and activities of KCC,
which the Chapter along with other
groups support with a financial contribution to act as lobbying arm for
state environmental issues. It was
recommended that a Chapter member be appointed to the Board of
KCC to provide stronger communication between the two groups. The
Chapter was among the founders of
KCC and has had such representation in the past.
The Legislative Committee
report notes that the Chapter
received $13, 259 from national SC
for the lobbying grant. A vote to
disburse the requested funds to KCC
and KY Resources Council (KRC)
passed, and funds may be reimbursed
to the KY Sustainable Energ y
Alliance (KYSEA) for production of
T
materials.
The Political Committee held
discussion about potential endorsements of political candidates. Rep.
John Yarmuth has been endorsed.
Questionnaires are to be sent to
selected state candidates followed by
personal interviews, and responses
will be reported in August. Some
candidates may not desire official SC
endorsements.
The Chair challenged Chapter
Committees to develop plans for
what they hope to address during
2015 and make budget requests if
funds are sought to accomplish these
plans. The plans are to be submitted
by the August meeting so that budget planning can occur more timely.
Group chairs highlighted activities in their areas, with most groups
having active Earth Day programs in
April. Greater Louisville noted that
they have an ongoing active antiKeystone Pipeline group; Northern
KY has a major outing of canoeing
and day-hikes planned for October
in Murphy, N.C.
The Outing Committee noted
that funds are available to reimburse
half the cost of First Aid training for
outings leaders provisional to: Outings Leader Training certification or
recertification and committing to
lead one or more outings in the coming year.
Announcements: June 14-16 celebration of the 50th Anniversary of
the Wilderness Act at Red River
Gorge and Clifty Wilderness; Nov.
7-9 Annual Meeting at Lake Barkley
State Resort Park, with many interesting outings. Reminder to groups
to gather items for the silent auction!
The Energy Committee reported on numerous issues being tracked
around the state, from coal ash pollution, new energy efficiency proposals, proposed new solar and gas-fired
generation plants, retirement of the
old Dale plant on the KY River and
announcement of EPA’s CO2 emission standard rules.
The Mining Report noted several coalition efforts with the Alliance
for Appalachia, Kentuckians For The
Commonwealth and others. Comments are sought from both Eastern
and Western KY on the draft KY
General Permit for mining on June
18 in Frankfort. The Chapter promotes individual permits at every
mine rather than a general permit to
ensure greater protection of water
and lands.
The Water Committee report
strongly called for involvement
statewide to comment supporting
making EPA’s and the Army Corps
regulations about what are and are
not Waters of the United States
more inclusive and subject to the
Clean Water Act. Comments are
due by July 7 on part of the regs,
with the comment period for the
overall rule ending in October. A
meeting to plan for aggressive action
in this regard will be held June 28,
with active attendance encouraged.
A Forest and Wildlands Report
addressed changes to the forest planning regulations process, mining and
resource extraction on Federal lands
and the endangered species act.
The August 2 Executive Committee meeting will be via conference
call.
Wonders: The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard
by Jack Hicks
reative people find inspiration from many sources. For Louisville
independent film producer Morgan Atkinson, it was a dream that
put him on the trail of painter and naturalist Harlan Hubbard.
‘’I woke up laughing. I was aware of Hubbard. I knew he was an outdoor
person, but I really knew little about him.”
Atkinson had recently completed a film on the life of writer John Howard
author of ‘’Black Like Me,’’ and was searching for a new subject.
Griffin,
“It planted the seed,’’ Atkinson said of his dream.
Hubbard and his wife, Anna, were deceased, as were most of their relatives
and longtime friends, so Atkinson’s quest stretched out over the next few years.
He studied their lives through books and newspaper articles, and interviewed neighbors in the vicinity of Payne Hollow, the couple’s isolated Trimble
County homestead.
The result was the film, ‘’Wonders; the lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard.’’
Atkinson showed the film recently to members of the Northern Kentucky
Sierra Club group, to the delight of all.
C
“It was just so interesting. I didn’t know much about the life of Harlan
Hubbard and I found it so fascinating,’’ said Sierra Club member Chris Comte,
who is also a painter.
Harlan Hubbard was a onetime resident of Ft. Thomas, and the couple’s
colorful and unusual lifestyle may be more familiar to Northern Kentuckians
than to others in the Commonwealth. Among highlights are building a shanty
boat on the banks of the Ohio River in Campbell County and traveling downriver with the current to New Orleans.
The Hubbards made many stops along the way, where they fished and
planted gardens that contributed to their largely self-sufficient lifestyle.
One of the stops was Payne Hollow where they later settled. The Hubbards lived there for many years. They provided most of their own food and
necessities, and filled their lives with reading and making music. They died a
few years apart in the 1980s, Anna at 86 and Harlan at 88.
Atkinson continues with his commercial public relations and film work,
hoping to attract the attention of Kentucky Educational Television (KET). He
is always in the market for new ideas, whether they come from dreams or not.
The Cumberland July 2014
page 9
Northern Kentucky Group’s Tri-State Hiking Guide
by John Robbins
ver visited Northern Kentucky
or Greater Cincinnati and
wondered if there are good
local nature hikes? NKY Group’s
website has a new online guide to
recommended nature hikes in the
northern Kentucky, southwest Ohio
and southeast Indiana area.
Go to http://nky.sierraclub.org/,
hover over “Outings” below the banner and in the pull-down menu, click
on “Tristate Hiking Guide”.
The new guide became available
at NKY Group’s website in late April
2014. The guide presents a list of
the recommended hiking locations in
the 12-county territor y of NKY
Group and adjacent counties in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. Click on
E
any location in the list to find
descriptions of the trails and their
characteristics, a trail map and
hyperlinks related to the location.
The guide presents each hike similarly so readers can identify and
compare destinations. Estimated
hiking distances and brief driving
instructions are given so readers can
decide how much time they need for
hiking and travel. An effort was
made to note unique and interesting
aspects of many places at or near the
hikes, often centering on ecology or
geolog y, but also histor y when
known.
This new online hiking guide is
an update of an original guide produced a decade ago by NKY Group.
The initial idea emerged at a meeting when a new member asked about
recommended local nature hikes.
We didn’t even have a list of recommended local nature hikes in our
area! So one member took initiative
and created the original guide. Until
2013 it had been available as a PDF
download from NKY Group website. Before that, it was printed, spiral-bound and sold for a small price
at our local table-tops.
Outings leader John Robbins
noticed in 2013 that some of the
hikes in his NKY outings were not
covered in the old guide. Other local
hikes were missing, including new
trails. There were some obsolete
website hyperlinks. Some hikes
included maps while others did not.
So Robbins and other NKY Group
volunteers began to review and revise
the guide, one hike at a time. Since
fall 2013, they have been rehiking
local trails, taking notes and photos,
sometimes using GPS to create trail
maps when good ones didn’t exist.
Some new hikes were added and
some old hikes were deleted. Deletions occurred for various reasons,
including long distances from NKY,
poor or unsafe trail conditions, or
sometimes just because we did not
recommend a trail or location.
Future updates and additions to
the guide are expected to occur periodically. Thanks to the many NKY
Group volunteers involved in this
project so far: Don Becher, Paul
Buelterman, Chris & Tom Comte,
Marcia Gardner, Ann Hicks, Jennifer
Lantz, Rich Koster, Bill Thoeny,
Karen Upton and Cathy Wasson.
Summer Fun: Bluegrass Group Picnic!
Bluegrass Group members took a little time to mix and mingle at the University of Kentucky Arboretum for their annual picnic. Come to a regional group near you for other activities.
See our Group News on page 2-3.
The Cumberland July 2014
page 10
NKY Sierra Club Partners with Green Umbrella
by Charlene McGrath, NKY Sierra Club
he Green Umbrella is a nonprofit organization working to
improve the economic vitality
and quality of life in the Greater
Cincinnati area by maximizing the collective impact of individuals and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability.
The Green Umbrella works with
the region’s leading planning organizations— Vision 2015 in Northern Kentucky and Agenda 360 in Southwestern
Ohio. It facilitates collaboration among
over 200 area non-profits, businesses,
education institutions, and governmental entities focused on the environmental
aspects of sustainability.
The Green Umbrella is the backbone organization whose membership
aims to meet the environmental and
economic needs of today while preserving the ability of future generations to
do the same. Action teams have been
formed to address the following issues:
energy conservation and efficiency, land,
local food, outdoor recreation and nature
awareness, renewable energy, transporta-
T
tion, waste reduction, and water.
The annual Green Umbrella Sustainability Summit was held Monday,
May 12 at the Cintas Center at Xavier
University. John Picard was the keynote
speaker. Mr. Picard is one of the organizers of the U.S. Green Building
Council, a designer of the LEED green
building system, and the founder of HP
Energy, a high tech energy conservation
firm.
A highlight of the meeting was a
report f rom the President on the
progress of the Green Umbrella. Membership growth is at 20%. The Action
Teams partnered with the Cincinnati
Reds on an e- waste project resulting in
nine tractor-trailers full of recyclable
electronic waste. Water and land management presented a forum attended by
140 focusing on “Taking Root,” an initiative to plant two million trees by
2020. Duke Energy has given a grant
to Cincinnati, Louisville, and Dayton
environmental teams for a meet-meoutdoors event. A Regional Trails master plan has been developed. Cincinnati
Bike-Share is scheduled to come online
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soon with bicycles available at 35 stations from downtown to Over-theRhine. Bike Share will cross the river to
Kentucky in 2015. Locally produced
food accounts for 10% of the area food
budget.
The Regional Trails Alliance
reported that there are nine trail corridors, and plans are being made where to
connect to trails to form a web of trails.
There are 2,123 miles of trails mapped
in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
PACE — property assessed clean
energy—is available in Ohio, allowing
for long term affordable financing for
clean energy building improvements.
With PACE there are no out of pocket
expenses that make for lower operating
costs while the value of the improvements increases. Financing is attached to
the property tax. There is a movement
to investigate PACE for Kentucky.
John Picard praised Green
Umbrella and Cincinnati as being near
the top of the list for livability and
bringing sustainable initiatives to the
region. He also recognized that a lot
remains to be done. People need to be
working with nature and we have fallen
by the wayside in several areas. Climate
change will be unstoppable if the world
doesn’t make some radical changes in
energy usage. Health is an issue, as
there is a lack of emphasis on preventive
care. By the time symptoms appear, it is
too late for many people. Our nation is
not planning for the future, as a large
percentage of retirees have less than
$25,000 in savings.
Mr. Picard stated that the world has
ten years to set a corrective course. In
twenty years we will have made adjustments or natural law will take over.
Picard is optimistic because we have the
connectivity using e-technology.
The audience paid close attention
during Picard’s talk and his message of
caution and his call to action were very
well received. There was a short question and answer session before the Sustainability Summit adjourned.
The Cumberland July 2014
page 11
Trimble County Sierra Club Activists Fight Coal Ash Landfill
he Trimble County
Sierra Club volunteers
working on their
LG&E Campaign have
recently won several victories.
A proposed landfill was
defeated because an organizer
found a cave on the property
that was used for the Underground Railroad. The Kentucky Division of Waste
Management denied the proposed landfill. Louisville Gas
& Electric (LG&E) came up
with another proposal that left
the cave out and resubmitted
the application. Over 100 residents showed up to a hearing earlier this
Spring, and the Kentucky Division of Waste Management issuesd a
“Notice of Deficiency” with eighty-two concerns that LG&E must
address. Since the hearing, over 500 comments from residents have been
submitted against the landfill. We are fighting to force LG&E to move the
landfill.
On June 6, the Trimble County Sierra Club team met and made plans
for the Summer activities. Recently we found out that LG&E had been
notified that significant archaeological sites were on this proposed location. The Army Corps of Engineers discovered this, and notified LG&E
that they had made a huge mistake.
There is a pending Army Corps of Engineers permit application for
which they are accepting comments.
Photos by Tom Pearce
T
Input Needed: Annual
meeting 2014
It’s not too early to start thinking about next November’s Annual
Meeting. We are hard at work planning and putting together a great
program for the 2014 Annual Meeting at Lake Barkley State Resort
Park in western Kentucky. From
great speakers and presenters to
hikes, music and a silent auction,
there is something for everybody.
Look for more information to come
over the course of this year. Put the
weekend of November 7-9th, 2014,
on your calendar now and be ready
for a weekend to Explore, Enjoy and
Protect Kentucky with your Cumberland Chapter. If you have any
suggestions or comments please
contact Joey Shadowen at 859-2523422 or [email protected].
The Cumberland July 2014
page 12
Outings
(All outings are open to the public)
Outing Spotlight
July 4 (Friday) Fourth of July Parade and Cookout: Lexington, KY.
The Bluegrass Group of the Sierra Club participates every year in
the Lexington-Fayette County’s Fourth of July Parade. So come join
the fun and walk in the parade with us! The parade starts at Midland Avenue near Main Street. Afterwards, all of the participants
are invited to a “thank you” cookout hosted by Lane Boldman and
Joey Shadowen who live nearby. Some may choose to go fireworks
watching afterwards. Rating: Easy, suitable for beginners. Leaders:
Joey Shadowen and Lane Boldman, 859-552-1173,
[email protected].
July 2014
July 4 (Friday) Fourth of July Parade and
Cookout: Lexington, KY. The Bluegrass
Group of the Sierra Club participates every
year in the Lexington-Fayette County’s
Fourth of July Parade. So come join the
fun and walk in the parade with us! The
parade starts at Midland Avenue near
Main Street. Afterwards, all of the participants are invited to a “thank you” cookout
hosted by Lane Boldman and Joey Shadowen who live nearby. Some may choose
to go fireworks watching afterwards. Rating: Easy, suitable for beginners. Leaders:
Joey Shadowen and Lane Boldman, 859552-1173, [email protected].
July, 18 (Friday) Louisville Sierra Club Dinner, 7:00pm. July’s dinner will be at the
Vietnam Kitchen, 5339 Mitscher Ave.
Contact the leader before noon on Thursday prior to dinner to allow for accurate
reservations. Rating: Easy. Leaders: Judy
Lyons, 585-3806, or Gloria KemperO'Neill, 458-5253.
August 2014
August 2 (Saturday) Paddle the Licking
River and Learn about Mussels, Butler,
KY. (rain date: 8/16). The Licking River
is nationally known for its freshwater mussels. There are more freshwater mussels in
the State of KY than in the entire African
Continent Twenty-six percent of the
mussel species found in the Licking are
endangered. During our trip we will stop
to explore a shoal where our guest, Dr.
Monte
McGregor,
Aquatic
Scientist/Malacologist Kentucky Dept. of
Fish & Wildlife Resources, Center for
Mollusk Conservation, will find and identify many species of mussels and talk to us
about how important these creatures really
are as indicators of water quality. He’ll
also provide information about what he
and the Center for Mollusk Conservation
are doing to protect these important
organisms all across the Commonwealth.
It’s a fascinating story, and it’s happening
right here in our backyard. Canoe rentals
are available from Thaxton’s Canoe Livery.
There will be trip charges for canoe rentals
and shuttle. Rating: Easy, Class I paddle,
suitable for people with little or no canoe
experience, but paddlers must have the
physical ability and endurance for a 2 to 3
hour trip. Leaders: Paul Buelterman, 859371-0028, [email protected], or Jerry
Messer,
859-525-8719,
[email protected].
August 3 (Sunday) Hot August Night
Nature Hike, 6:00pm, Melbourne
(Campbell County), KY. St. Anne Wetlands has been described as the finest
remaining 100 acres of wetlands along the
Ohio River, and until recently was owned
by the Sisters of Divine Providence. We
will be joined by Dr. William (Bill) Thoeny – an entomologist whose
interests/expertise also includes flora and
fauna. Bill has BS and MS in biological
science and a PhD in entomology – so we
will include the often overlooked world of
bugs in this outing. We will hike the trails
first, noting the large beech and numerous
paw-paw trees, as well as the invasives
making inroads into the forest. We’ll take
a stab at bird identification and, of course,
discuss the bugs we locate. We will then
head down and walk the wetlands and
those who wish can then retire with us to
the regionally famous Silver Grove Dairy
Bar. We will then return to the wetlands
to see insects that come out at night with
the aid of Bill’s black light. Limit is 12
participants. Rating: Easy, suitable for
beginners, you should be in reasonably
good shape. Leader: Don Becher, (859)
291-8405, [email protected]
August 22 (Friday) Louisville Sierra Club
Dinner. When: Fri. Aug. 22, 2014 ay 7:00
Note to Outings Leaders: Please notify Oscar Geralds ([email protected]) as
soon as possible if there are changes that need to be made to your outing.
PM. August’s dinner will be at Uptown
Cafe, 1624 Bardstown Rd. Contact the
leader before noon on Thursday prior to
dinner to allow for accurate reservations.
Rating: Easy. Leaders: Judy Lyons, 5853806, or Gloria Kemper-O'Neill, 4585253.
August 30 (Saturday) Dayhike and Tour of
Dinsmore Homestead, Dinsmore
Homestead, Burlington, KY. Fusion
Hike: Birds, Bugs and Butterflies! (And,
home tour!) Explore the trails for a couple
of hours in the morning at the Dinsmore
Homestead with our intrepid naturalist,
Bill Thoeny, and leaders, Donna Becher
and Chrisula Stone. After the hike, a staff
member will take us for a private guided
tour on the history of the Dinsmore homestead. If there is any interest, we may go
to lunch nearby after the outing. Wear
comfortable shoes (no sandals) and bring
water and a snack. Note: There is a
$3/person fee for the tour. Limit: 14 participants. RSVP to the leader no later than
August 23. Rating: Easy, suitable for
beginners. Leader: Donna Becher, 859380-9493, [email protected]
September 2014
September 14 (Sunday) Rib – Ride, a Bike
Ride for the Sometime Cyclist, Northern
KY. We will begin near, Eli’s Ribs, the
leader’s absolute favorite Cincinnati/NKY
area rib joint! We’ll ride approximately 25
miles round trip, primarily on off-the-road
paved paths and return to Eli’s to regain
the calories we lost. A leisurely afternoon
for the sometime cyclist who wishes to
support a local business. Numbers will be
limited – so contact early if you want to go.
Rating: Easy, but not suitable for beginners, and you must have been riding
recently. Helmets required. Leader: Don
Becher,
(859)
291-8405,
[email protected]. Assistant Leader:
David Josko, [email protected].
September 20 (Saturday) Dayhike: Kincaid
Lake State Park, Falmouth, KY. This
Last-Day-of-summer HIKE will cover up
to 2.5 miles overall in about 2 hours, walking through a variety of wooded nature
habitats with up to 180’ elevation change
from creek valley to hilltop. Some low
areas can have water flowing over the trail,
and many trail sections are steep, rocky
and/or damp, creating sometimes slippery
conditions. Walking sticks and shoes with
good tread are recommended. Bring liquid
& trail snacks. Please RSVP by noon on
Friday before the hike. Rating: Easy to
moderate, suitable for beginners. Leader:
John F Robbins, 859-363-0376,
[email protected]
September 20 (Saturday) Dayhike: Falls of
Ohio Wildlife Conservation Area. This
adventurous hike will explore the world
famous Devonian fossil beds, marshes,
prairie grass reefs, creek crossings that lie
in the midst of the Ohio River and the
Indiana State Park. The Leader is the
author of the guidebook “Probing the
Wonders of the Falls.” Rating information: Moderate, but suitable for beginners.
Leader: Kenny Karem, 502-895-6073,
[email protected]
September 20-21 (Saturday-Sunday) Backpack: Big South Fork Nat’l River and
Recreation Area, Oneida, TN. What a
great time of year to get out for an
overnighter. We’ll do about five miles each
day. through a nice area of the BSF. Rating: Moderate.Leader: Joey Shadowen,
859-492-6373, [email protected].
O ctober 2014
October 10-12 (Thursday evening-Sunday)
Backpack, Middlesboro, KY.
(Dates subject to change). The Cumberland
Gap was utilized for years as US Highway
25E, which did little for the aesthetics of
the area. The Gap was in the somewhat
recent past restored to its more natural
state by drilling a tunnel for the highway.
We will also see the well preserved historic
Hensley settlement and Sand Cave. All
this at the beginning of the fall season
which can be spectacular in this area! We’ll
begin the backpack on Friday, and if you
do no live close by, you’ll need to plan to
arrive on Thursday evening. Limited to 7
participants. Backpacking experience
required. Must have suitable backpacking
equipment and full back pack should
weigh no more than 35-40 lbs. Rating:
strenuous, not suitable for beginners.
Leader: Don Becher, (859) 380-8238,
[email protected].
October 10 (Friday) or Oct 11 (Saturday) 1st available evening with clear skies; 7 to
10pm: Fall Stargazing in Northern KY.
This NKY Fall Stargaze hopes to offer
views of a setting summer Milky Way,
some nebulas & many star clusters. Early
arrivals learn how to setup a telescope &
how to avoid or minimize night light pollution. Dress for sitting & standing outside on unpaved ground on a cool fall
night. BYO lawn chairs, drinks & snacks.
Limited vehicle parking space may restrict
attendance.Rating: Easy, suitable for
beginners. Leader: John F Robbins, 859363-0376, [email protected].
The Cumberland Chapter’s Outings Program exists primarily to make participants aware of the natural areas and resources the Sierra Club works so hard to preserve. Outings provide a valuable
source of fun and relaxation. The Cumberland Chapter’s Outings Program is managed by the chapter. Any donations to support this program are appreciated but not required. Each leader serves
in a volunteer capacity. Each participant must get permission from the trip leader to attend the trip. Outings will take place regardless of weather unless otherwise specified. If you are unable to
attend an outing which you have signed up for, please have the courtesy to inform the outings leader as soon as possible. Pets, smoking, radios and guns are not allowed on trips. Guests and children are always welcome. If you have any questions about our outings program, or publicizing any outings, please contact the Cumberland Chapter Outings Chair Ron Colwell at 859-912-5879 or
[email protected]. Happy Trails!!!