Protect, Preserve, and Enhance
River Fields is one of the oldest river organizations and their whole process of dedicated initiatives to preserve natural land, and agriculture, and the cultural assets – that’s what it’s about. — Dr. David Wicks, Ohio River Way, University of Louisville, and River City Paddle Sports
Conservation Easement Executed: November 2006, Location: Glenview, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Size: 18…
Conservation Easement Executed: November 2001, Location: Goshen, Kentucky, Oldham County, Size: 376.7…
Conservation Easement Executed: 2006, Location: Shelbyville, Kentucky, Shelby County, Size: 387 acres…
Conservation Easement Executed: 1999 Location: Jefferson County, about 12…
A day in the life of River Fields
In summer of 2024, we sent one of Louisville’s finest photographers, John Nation, to document some moments in our beautiful lands. Here are some of our favorites. This is what you help make possible when you support River Fields.
Advocacy: Standing up for what’s right for the river
River Fields has been able to strike a rare balance in protecting and promoting both natural and cultural resources. Few organizations in America have achieved this vision.
Charles Birnbaum
President, National Cultural Landscape Foundation
River Fields has gained national respect for our effective advocacy strategy, which works in tandem with our land conservation program. As a leading voice in advocacy, River Fields’s values are:
- The river belongs to all people for healthy enjoyment
- Neighborhoods should actively be connected to the river
- Development within the river corridor must be managed for preservation of nature and culture
- The river is our city’s most prominent feature and our center stage
- Air and water quality must be protected
- Economic opportunity must be balanced with ecology, culture, and health
- Historic places and cultural landscapes must be protected
- Everyone should have access to explore and learn about the river
- The public landscape of the river mirrors our identity as a community and must be protected and nurtured for the common good
We foster collaborative relationships with government agencies at the local, state and national levels, working closely with key agencies such as:
- Louisville Metro Planning and Design Services
- Louisville Metro Public Works
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
- The State Historic Preservation Offices of Kentucky and Indiana
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
- Federal Highway Administration,
- Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency (KIPDA),
- Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and
- Many other organizations throughout the Ohio River Corridor
River Fields works with citizens and neighborhood associations, such as the West Jefferson County Community Task Force, the Kosmosdale Preservation Group, the Prospect/Harrods Creek Neighborhood Association, Butchertown Neighborhood Association, and the Southwest County Association of Neighborhoods. We provide advocacy services and support through consulting, toolkits, guidance, input, technical assistance, and regulatory expertise. If you have an advocacy issue related to the Ohio River and its lands that you want our support on or opposition to, contact CEO and President Kristin Faurest at kristin@riverfields.org. Whether it’s by giving informal helpful advice or supporting you at public hearings, we’re here for you.
Education: Telling stories of water and land
This is where the future is – in the unique combination of advocacy for the right decisions about land and water usage for the community, and conserving land at the same time.
Former President, Land Trust Alliance
In the end, we will conserve what we love, we’ll love what we know, and we’ll know what we’re taught. That’s why education matters so deeply.
As storytellers for the water and the land, River Fields engages and educates learners at all levels on education on the river and its interconnectedness with its lands, history, cultural treasures, and the people who enjoy and depend upon them. Our programming reaches learners at all levels of all ages who want to connect with wildflowers, creeks, forests, and flora and fauna that rely upon them.
Knowledge is power, and an informed and engaged public understands the cultural and natural resources of the river corridor, the public’s right to access river views, the critical need for open space protection, and the growth and development issues that can jeopardize these fragile and precious resources. That’s why we not only provide engaging hands-on educational experiences, but we also provide vital information to and work closely with local activist organizations, decision makers, and the news media. River Fields keeps the public informed about critical topics that impact the river and our region.
Our educational approach isn’t just about engaging the public in policy decisions. For us, education is also about helping people experience the beauty of natural and cultural treasures firsthand. It’s about building connections between people and the built and natural environment with the ultimate goal of all of us being stewards. Isn’t that a beautiful idea?
For more information, check out the following:
Upcoming Events
Land Conservation: Protected forever
America’s natural beauty is disappearing right before our eyes. Land trusts such as River Fields are protecting the best before it’s too late.
Former President, Land Trust Alliance
“These acres not only provide a conserved core of property surrounded by development, but also form their own watershed. We realized, having purchased this property, it is only conserved as long as we are here to protect it. To that end, we were determined to not only have a conservation easement, but to have a River Fields conservation easement.”
Deanna Estes-Culler and Everett Culler, landowners, Daisy Hill
River Fields works with landowners and supporters to preserve thousands of acres of beautiful open space, productive farms, diverse woodlands and unique wetlands along the Ohio River Corridor and Watershed.
We own 10 river corridor properties outright, totaling over 65 acres. The largest of these, Garvin Brown Nature Preserve, is open every day of the year to our public for enjoying woods, wildflowers, wetlands and open views to the Ohio River.
In addition, we hold conservation easements that restrict the development rights to 17 additional properties in metro Louisville and surrounding counties. These easements protect more than 2,300 acres of land critical to our metro area’s scenic value and ecological health — including sensitive wetlands and watersheds, beautiful scenic vistas, wildlife habitats, historical properties and landscapes, and working farms. Conservation easements are legal agreements between a landowner and a land trust that places permanent restrictions on the use of a property. That means a beautiful piece of open land will never become a warehouse, office park, or subdivision – it will stay open and protected, forever.
Conserved Landscapes
In total, River Fields has protected over 2,300 acres of land forever. View our current list of properties...
Conserve Your Land
River Fields uses two primary land protection tools: conservation easements and fee simple ownership. We undertake this work through donations…
River Fields Special Appeal
This past year we celebrated turning 65, and we think that’s cause to celebrate! We hope you’ll agree, and make a gift to commemorate our milestone. Thank you!
Your generous support of River Fields allows us to pursue many different projects that achieve diverse benefits for our community. It’s our 65th anniversary – why not make a donation that poetically reflects that magnificent number? Here are a few important things you can make happen with your donation:
$6,500 donation:
Pays for six months of stewardship at Garvin Brown Preserve, whose wildflower meadows, river views and ephemeral wetlands are enjoyed by thousands annually!
Covers engaging bilingual interpretive signage at 3 of our properties
$650 donation:
- Funds a trained naturalist’s fee and River Fields’s staff support to provide an educational experience for families and children at Wolf Pen Branch Mill Farm
Funds the print publication of one of our bimonthly newsletters - Supports flood clean up at one of our properties
- Pays for the removal of an unhealthy tree and replacement with another
$65
- Enables a staff member’s attendance at critical advocacy meetings such at the Metro Planning Commission or the Louisville Water Company
- Offsets the cost of graphic design work for our special events
- Purchases reference materials for our office library
- We’re not using this form anymore. Please contact us directly.