Preservation group buys land near Kentucky’s Pine Mountain

HARLAN, Ky. (AP) – An environmental preservation group has purchased nearly 2,000 acres in an effort to preserve lands around Pine Mountain in far eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky Natural Lands Trust aims to preserve lands around a 125-mile stretch in southeastern Kentucky it calls the Pine Mountain Wildlands Corridor.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the group has been working for years to acquire land on Pine Mountain, adding more than 4,000 acres in Bell and Harlan counties to the corridor in recent years. The latest purchase is the largest acquisition in the history of that effort.

The corridor is a migratory route and refuge for thousands of species of birds, animals and plants.

The land involved in the purchase is near Cumberland, in Harlan County, according to the trust.