FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                         Contact:  

                                                         Kathy Melvin, Business Integrated

                                                         Communications   502.609.9813

  River Fields Offers Free Public Tour of Edyalmoor

Event Scheduled for Saturday, October 11 

Louisville, KY (October 6, 2008)—The public is invited to participate in a guided walking tour of Edyalmoor, an historic, Olmsted-designed estate in the River Road corridor. The October 11th event, sponsored by River Fields, is free and open to the public.

Dave French, member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and other River Fields staff will conduct the tour. The Olmsted firm developed plans for the estate in the early 1900s, and some landscape remnants created through that plan remain today.

Originally estimated at 4,000 acres, Edyalmoor is the last remaining segment of the Bate Plantation, once the largest plantation and land holding in Jefferson County. In November 2006, Kenneth W. and Edythe Moore preserved the property forever when they granted a Historic Preservation, Conservation and Scenic Easement, now held jointly by River Fields, Inc. and the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office.

Conservation easements are a means of protecting a specific property from undesirable land use and development. The donor transfers development rights of the land, generally to a qualified land trust such as River Fields, which takes responsibility for enforcing the development restrictions in perpetuity. The donor retains ownership of the property. The land trust monitors the easement to ensure that the restrictions are maintained forever.

Reservations for the tour are required and space is limited. The tour is of the grounds only and does not include the house. Contact Melody Raidy at (502) 583-3060, or e-mail her at melodyraidy@riverfields.org to reserve a spot or for additional information. The deadline for reservations is 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2008.

Tour participants will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 11 at 3017 River Road, formerly the Thoroughbred Cleaners. The property is immediately east of the Water Tower. Participants will be transported to and from the Edyalmoor estate by bus. The tour will last approximately two hours.

# # #

River Fields is the largest and oldest river conservancy along the 981- mile Ohio River.  For nearly 50 years, River Fields has utilized its resources to effectively protect, preserve and enhance the natural and cultural resources of the land and water around the Ohio River in our region.  Through its programs of land conservation, advocacy, and education, River Fields strives to create harmony between nature, history and the people who live here.  River Fields owns land or holds conservation easements on 34 properties, totaling more than 2,200 acres, most of which is preserved forever. River Fields is one of the nation's few land trusts tackling regional advocacy work and land conservation.     

www.riverfields.org