At a Glance
A 3,200-acre greenway will regenerate a culturally and ecologically significant valley within the growing Louisville metropolitan region.
Project Description
Spanning 3,200 acres and stretching over 19 miles, Floyds Fork Greenway is poised to become the nation’s largest urban park. Despite the Fork’s beauty and abundance of life, the quality of its water has been degraded by development and pollution. Without a plan in place to manage and capitalize on the opportunities its rich natural resources present, the Fork is at risk of losing some of the very features that make it so special.
Recognizing that the landscape provides the ultimate foundation for the Floyds Fork Greenway, 21st Century Parks retained Biohabitats to develop a Landscape Conservation and Restoration Management Plan (LCRMP) to bridge the gap between the Greenway’s master plan and the implementation of specific initiatives. The LCRMP is a GIS-based, interactive tool that provides specific prescriptions for conservation and restoration initiatives throughout the park. It is based on the vision of the Greenway as a legacy forest, a wild and scenic Fork and a living laboratory. Adaptive management is an important component and guiding feature of the plan.
The LCRMP empowers 21st Century Parks to identify the Fork’s treasured historical, geological, and environmental sites, and continue to preserve, restore and enhance them in harmony with planned park development in perpetuity.
Biohabitats is also responsible for developing ecological restoration and mitigation designs for the park, assisting with permitting, and providing details and specifications for various environmental, soil bioengineering and wildlife habitat features in the park. Taking complex restoration initiatives and converting them into easily understood drawings and specifications that achieve the desired outcome is critical to the success of the park.