Park Plan "First Frontier Road Rally" for 2009
The park, in cooperation with Scenic Road Rallies, LCC of Sunman, Indiana, has planned to host it’s first ever Road Rally of the KY-TN-VA tri-state area on May 15-16, 2009. A road rally is a rural driving tour in the country on public roads where two-person driving teams compete in a very casual outing for points to win prizes. Rallies are structured to keep drivers on the least traveled routes, visiting small towns, historic locales, and forgotten venues along the way. The park plans to offer a special event package to include tour registration, meals, and two nights stay. For more information, contact the park’s guest services desk.
Guided Elk Viewing Tours
Pine Mountain State Resort Park will again conduct fall and winter guided elk tours in 2008-09. With sightings that average between 75-100 animals per trip, the tours have proven to be wildly popular. Tour registration fees are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 & under. Fee includes Friday evening A/V program, Saturday continental breakfast, van transportation, guide service, elk interpretation, and a souvenir item. The Saturday van tour leaves the park at approximately 5:15 am and the anticipated return time is 10:30 am. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars, water, and snacks. The 2008-09 tour dates are as follows:
September 20, 2008
October 11, 2008
October 18, 2008
November 1, 2008
January 10, 2009
January 17, 2009
January 24, 2009
Advanced sign-up is required and space is limited. Tour reservations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. To check space availability or to reserve your place on a tour, contact the park’s Front Desk at 606.337.3066 or 800.325.1712.
Nature Trends
Black Bears
The Black Bear population in Eastern Kentucky continues to rise. As a result more people are coming into contact with them. Black Bears are regular visitors and in some cases residents to the park.
Bears living in areas where they may regularly come into contact with people are usually active at dusk, during the night and in the early morning hours. They frequently roam the countryside in search of favorite wild foods and sometimes use the park's trails to move from one area to another.
The park has recently installed signs alerting visitors to the facts of conducting outdoor activities in bear country and our first bear resistant trash containers will be installed in early 2008. The park’s goal of simultaneously protecting black bears and assuring visitor safety is a simple matter of observing a few common-sense practices. Never leave food products unattended—store them in your car’s trunk and don’t place food leftovers in waste cans across the park. Never approach a bear or entice them to approach you. Enjoy them as encountered and from a safe distance.
Eastern Coyotes
Over the last two decades, coyotes have expanded their range eastward into Kentucky and beyond. The coyote has been a significant predator in the west and it is proving to have the same impact in the east.
Historically, the coyote roamed the Great Plains of the west, but their expansion eastward has come from the northwest and southeast and the coyote now occupies every state in the continental United States. The easterly infiltration of the coyote is likely the result of the elimination of the timber wolf and also the establishment of the large deer herds in the east as a food base.
It‘s been said that a coyote’s favorite food is anything it can chew. The coyote is a carnivore that can adapt to nearly any available food supply and are deemed a significant predator of both wildlife species and domestic livestock. The primary wildlife species that coyote prey upon are white-tailed deer (the old, injured, and very young) and small mammals such as rats and mice. In Kentucky, their diet also consists of wild turkey (primarily the eggs and young poults).
While the coyote is a significant predator on wildlife populations, it should be noted that predation is a natural part of the ecosystem. The addition of coyotes to an ecosystem can change ecological balances of predator and prey species, but it usually doesn’t eliminate other species from the environment. Predators serve a valuable function by keeping prey species in balance with their habitat. Rodents like rats and mice would soon be out of control without such predators. Nevertheless, Kentucky coyote numbers will bear monitoring over the next few years to assure that their impact does not inordinately affect the populations of some game species.
Pine Mountain Interpretive Center
The park’s new Interpretive Center, combining exhibits with a graphics-driven interactive kiosk, provides visitors with a great place to begin exploring the park’s rich natural history.
The center’s interior blends state-of-the-art technology with old-fashioned charm inherent to the rustic and historic structure.
The center also features a secluded outdoor interpretive space complete with bench style seats for both afternoon and evening programs. The center is open from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm daily.