Episode 013 Field Notes Lost River Cave, KWA Summit
The following are notes captured during the research and refinement process. The released episode is the refined product durived from these notes. Therefore, they ARE NOT refined. These notes do include additional reference material and information not included in the final version of the episode. Some elements were not included in the final release because additional validation is required. Some portions were omitted due to time restraints. Multiple drafts of the narrative is sometime included. This information has been provided for fellow historians and researchers interested in advancing the story, and to illustrate the process used to create these episodes. As always, validate and confirm before use.
See Notes Below:
Lost River Cave, KWA Summit
History
Watershed Watch in Kentucky https://www.kywater.org/home
UK Watershed Academy https://www.research.uky.edu/KWRRI/kentucky-watershed-academy
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Basin Coordinators
Big Sandy/Little Sandy and Tygarts Basins
Nathan Alexander 300 Sower Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-782-4203
nathan.alexander@ky.gov
Licking River Basin
Brian Storz, Basin Coordinator
300 Sower Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-782-2141
brian.storz@ky.gov
Kentucky River Basin
Andrea Drayer
Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University of Kentucky
233 Mining and Minerals Building, Lexington, KY 40505
Phone: 859-257-4974
andrea.drayer@uky.edu
Upper Cumberland River Basin
Alice Mandt
300 Sower Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-782-7169
mandt@ky.gov
Salt River Basin
Amber Hawkins
300 Sower Boulevard, Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-782-6266
No email provided.
Green and Tradewater Rivers Basin
Colin Duncan
300 Sower Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-782-3594
colin.duncan@ky.gov
Four River Basin
Rhonda Lamb
270-832-2557
rlamb@murraystate.edu
Big Sandy/Little Sandy and Tygarts Basins
Licking River Basin
Kentucky River Basin
Upper Cumberland River Basin
Salt River Basin
Green and Tradewater Rivers Basin
Four River Basin
Narrative
Under the leadership of Laura Gregory, The Kentucky Waterway Alliance conducted their first Kentucky Watershed Network Collaborative Summit. This year’s meeting was held at Lost River Cave, in Bowling Green Kentucky
like many of Kentucky’s waterways, this river and cave has a rich history…. It was the site of Civil War encampments for the Confederates in 1861 and the Union Army in 1862. It facilitated several flour and grist mills…a distillery…and a sawmill. In the 1930s, 40s and 50s it served as a night club featuring Big Band and jazz musicians. After the Cavern Nite Club closed in the early 1960’s the site became an illegal dump site for some 30 years
In 1990, the Friends of the Lost River was formed, and they spent… eight years… removing 55 tons of trash from the cave, river, and surrounding property.
In 1999, the first Lost River Cave underground boat tour was launched…and today over 80,000 individuals visit the cave and urban nature preserve each year, which includes 4000 school children who participate in their unique nature education programs.
But…just like every waterway in Kentucky…the work is never done. Recently operations at the cave were disrupted due to detergent being release upstream. On several occasions…The Friends of the Lost River were forced to temporarily close the cave to visitors. Once the source was identified, the community worked collectively to find a quick resolution… and a positive corporate relationship was established and remains today.
For these reasons, the Lost River Caves was a perfect setting for the first Kentucky Watershed Network Collaborative Summit
As individuals arrived, they were asked to sign in under the River Basin in which they represented or lived. Close to 70 individuals gathered on a Friday morning to network, share ideas, and discuss best practices to improve water quality in the state of Kentucky.
Laura Gregory opened The Kentucky Waterway Alliance meeting with appreciation and thanks to all who came. This included the Water Basin Coordinators, Watershed Councils, Friend Groups, Universities, Government Officials, and all the volunteers who work diligently towards the well-being of Kentucky waterways.
As this map illustrates, Kentucky has seven major River basins. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has assigned a Basin Coordinator to each basin. Each basin has a network of creeks, lakes, and rivers.
Similar to how the Friends of the Lost River was formed, community action groups often united and are formed when these creeks, lakes, and rivers become endangered due to mankind’s misuse, overuse and abuse.
If you have ever wondered about getting involved, several speakers explained how Watershed Councils and Friends Groups work within a local community, and with State and Federal Governments.
Each state may have different structurers and department names…and each watershed plan may be structured differently, dependent on the end objective. But all need to meet the established Federal EPA guidelines and therefore the final means and methods eventually align to fulfill these federal mandates.
Once an action group is formed, they may want to formalize their organizations by becoming a legal corporate identity, and most can qualify as a non-profit 501-C3. Most of these organizations incorporate the name of the waterway into their corporate name. Such as the Banklick Watershed Council or Friends of the Lost River. One of the breakout groups at Kentucky Watershed Network Collaborative Summit discussed the means and methods to becoming a non-profit 501-C3 organization.
Now you can call your group any name that is available and allowed by the State. It is your group, you can name it whatever you want.
In the past the larger organizations used the stream name and tacked on watershed councils, such as the Banklick Watershed Council,
and smaller more targeted groups, such as the Friends of the Lost River, became known as Friends Group.
There are also watch groups and water advocate groups. Here is where it gets a little confusing. Because nature and water are fluid, what happens on the ground… and in the streams… is in a constant state of transition. Therefore, objectives change. The Friends of The Lost River started with the objective of removing 55 tons of garbage from a cave. Today they are involved in education, preservation, restoration, and economic development.
Watershed Councils, Friends, Watch and Advocacy Groups often have overlapping goals and objectives. Think of the Watershed Councils as bombers and the Friends, Watch and Advocacy Groups as Jet Fighters.
Regardless of the name or size, if an organization would like to receive funding from the EPA 319(h) Clean Water Act a Watershed Plan needs to be prepared and submitted for review and approval. Kentucky does provide a Watershed Planning Guidebook to help in this process, as does the EPA.
Several consulting firms are also available to help groups write a compliant watershed plan.
Friends, Watch, and Advocacy Groups sometime stay out of the funding process to allow them to go places governments cannot, or where politicians, industry and those trying to obtain and maintain funding dare not go. Such as identifying the Counties’ largest employer and taxpayer, who just happens, to also be polluting local waters.
Watershed projects are rewarding. But they are never simple. They require a multitude of talents. Knowing who you are and playing to your talents is critical. As is creating and maintaining a team whose talents complement each other and most importantly meets the ever-changing objectives.
The process to write a Watershed Plan and receive funding can be time consuming and daunting. Therefore, the decision to undertake these challenges is often driven by major environmental issues, failed promises by others to solve the problem, and a passion, love, and appreciation for nature.
If you can relate to any of these factors, but don’t want to “jump in feet first”, there are ample opportunities to “wade in” and help as a volunteer for a local Watershed Council or Friends Group, or other preservation-oriented organization. Tree plantings, stream restoration, trail building, cleanup days, fund raining, data collection and stream quality monitoring are just a few ways to get involved. Believe me…every Watershed Council and Friends Group needs supportive volunteers. They would love to hear from you.
If you need help identifying, connecting, and getting involved, reach out to The Kentucky Waterway Alliance or drop me an email via FishingLocalWaters.com and we will work to get you connected.
Special thanks to The Kentucky Waterway Alliance for all the work they do. And as always, I would like to thank you for spending another day with us at FishingLocalWaters.com.
Description
The Kentucky Waterway Alliance conducted their first Kentucky Watershed Network Collaborative Summit. This year’s meeting was held at Lost River Cave, in Bowling Green Kentucky. In this episode we look at the rich history of the cave, restoration, and ongoing operations. In addition, we take a deep dive into how different groups participate in the varies roles associated with maintaining safe, productive, and beautiful waterways.