ARC of Appalachia Preserve System: Natural History and Earth Stewardship

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The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System

Our Mission Statement

To preserve, restore, and reunite the greater Appalachian Forest through education, land acquisition and enduring stewardship – protecting the forest’s magnificent diversity, understanding human relationships with the forest, and fulfilling our yearning for connection.

Our Vision

To ignite a cultural transformation in the eastern United States in which its people claim the forest as their home, have a greater awareness of its natural history, and contribute to its protection.

Our Work
•Creating preserves for America's eastern deciduous forest - we manage 14 nature preserves in Ohio.
•Championing wilderness in the eastern United States.
•Honoring the prehistoric cultural history of the Eastern Woodlands - we steward 3 ancient earthwork sites in Ohio.
•Teaching forest literacy through in-depth nature courses.
•Educating towards an ethic of stewardship towards nature.
•Educating the public about the Eastern Forest - the Appalachian Forest Museum shows the forest's world significance.
•Restoring mature-growth forest to the eastern landscape's mosaic - we practice minimal disturbance forest management, focused on maximizing biodiversity.
•Providing personal retreat & workshop space in a natural forest setting.

About the Arc

The non-profit Arc of Appalachia Preserve System was founded in 1995 as a grassroots organization. Though our dreams have expanded significantly through the years, we have not lost sight of our roots, retaining only a tiny full-time staff and working mostly through volunteers. Since our inception we have raised over ten million dollars. We currently steward fourteen preserve regions, accessible by three visitors centers, and teach nature literacy and stewardship ethics.

The Arc works to accomplish forest preservation by buying forested land in key botanical "hotspots" and then slowly expanding those forests in size as funds for land procurement allow, allowing the woodlands to naturally age and diversify. In addition to forest preservation, the Arc also preserves important associated Eastern eco-systems such as wetlands and native prairies, as well as ancient earthworks and historical buildings present at these sites.

Where:
The Arc of Appalachia region lies between the Scioto and the Ohio Rivers on the Ohio-Kentucky border. Here the forest-clad Appalachian foothills wash up like an emerald sea against the shores of the highly developed farmlands covering the Midwest, where the forest has mostly vanished.

For much, much more and a calendar of events, see: http://arcofappalachia.org/events.html#

Many of the Arc's events take place at the Great Serpent Mound, Adams County, Ohio.

[In_The_Wind]

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