Parks and Recreation System Master Plan Update (2016) parks_and_recreation_system_master_plan_update_oct | Page 447

I. Introduction
A. Background information and objectives
By 1811, coal-powered steam boats were navigating westward along the Ohio River. At the
falls of the Ohio, the “break-in-bulk city” of Louisville, Kentucky began rapidly expanding as
the epicenter of the “only break in navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers between
Pittsburgh and New Orleans” (Parks and Open Space Master Plan, 1995). Much of the
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Area was a forested wetland ecosystem prior to European
settlement with such tree species as Red Maple, Sweetgum, River Birch, Black Maple, and
White Oak (Personal communication with Dr. Tom Barnes, 30 August 2006). To the south of the
city, limestone knobs covered with deciduous mesophytic forests rise in the distance. Due east of
the city, remnants of the Outer Bluegrass provided ideal agricultural lands with its rolling hills
and large water sources, such as Floyds Fork.
Today the landscape looks much different. Much of the land that has not been developed or
converted to agriculture is protected by the Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation, other metro,
state, and federal agencies, and private landowners. Just over 13,472 acres is owned and
managed by Parks (Figure 1). Of that, approximately 9,796 acres in 22 parks could be considered
natural areas (Table 1) or 73 percent of all land managed by Louisville Metro Parks and
Recreation. Due to large amount of natural areas owned by Metro Parks and Recreation, it is
imperative to develop a natural resource plan which clearly defines the fundamental
environmental management practices to be used by Parks employees to maintain this natural
resource in the middle of the 16 th largest city in the United States.
Cover Class
Total (ac.)
Percent of Total
Forest (Tree Canopy)
8,327.6
85.0
Grass/ Low Vegetation
1,128.4
11.5
Water
175.0
1.8
Bare Soil
34.5
0.4
Road/Railroad
57.1
0.6
Buildings
5.8
0.1
Other Impervious
67.5
0.7
9,796
100
Total
Table 1. Acreage of natural resources in Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation. Data source:
LOJIC, Land Cover 2012 (U rban Tree Canopy data).
Five objectives were set for the development of this natural resource plan:
A. To create a natural resource plan based on current expertise and resource knowledge in
Metro Parks and Recreation properties.
B. To document and integrate all existing data and/or literature related to natural resource
parks or areas, including species inventories, existing property plans, GIS data, etc.
C. To create recommendations for present and future management of parklands consisting
primarily of natural areas.
D. To establish a management timeline to update, adapt, and integrate the newly formed
natural resource plan to future property acquisitions, scientific findings from research
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