An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Established in 1990, the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund (KHLCF) is the primary source of state funding for the purchase and management of natural areas. It is used to purchase land from willing sellers for nature preserves, state parks, state forests, wildlife management areas, environmental education areas, wild rivers and wetlands. The KHLCF Board protects each site in perpetuity with a conservation easement or deed restriction. Legislation established four priorities for land conservation:
Revenue for the fund primarily comes from the sale of Kentucky nature license plates, unmined minerals tax on coal, and environmental fines. The Kentucky Environmental Education Council receives the first $150,000 of environmental fines each year for environmental education programs.
The Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board meets quarterly to review: new project applications, compliance items, Final Resource Management Plans, and other board business. Please see the KHLCF 2023 Dates for application deadlines and board meeting dates.
Purchase Nature Plates for your vehicle. Money from the sale of the plate goes into a fund for purchasing natural areas to be left as wild places held in trust for future generations.
Information on KHLCF applications for funding and management resources.
KHLCF Board meeting dates can be found on the Events page. For meeting information, contact naturepreserves@ky.gov.