Courtesy of a grant award, officials with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, the Kentucky Bass Nation and the Army Corps of Engineers have plans to build a cypress grove in Land Between the Lakes.
From 10 AM through lunch on February 17, volunteers are encouraged to bring a meal, beverages, gloves and tools to help plant 675 saplings at the Cravens Bay Boat Ramp — in Lyon County, and just near the Caldwell and Trigg County lines.
Officials also indicate that a free lunch will be provided.
The planting area, officials add, will be on the other side of the feeder creek.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, bald cypress trees are deciduous conifers that shed needle-like leaves in the fall — when their foliage turns tan, cinnamon, and fiery orange.
It’s native to the southeastern United States and grows along the Mississippi Valley drainage basin, along the Gulf Coast, and up the coastal plains of the mid-Atlantic states. They are well-equipped to thrive in wet conditions along riverbanks and swamps, and can live up to 600 years.
Valued for their rot-resistant heartwood, their manufacturing use involves fence posts, doors, flooring, caskets, cabinetry, boats, and more.
But more importantly, they are excellent at soaking up floodwaters, preventing erosion, trapping pollutants, and often serve as habitats for frogs, toads, salamanders, wood ducks, catfish and raptors like bald eagles.
