Cumberland Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.
 

85 South Laurel Road Suite 2  London, Kentucky 40744-8300  Phone 606 864-2172 Ext. 132 FAX 606 878-7761

The Nature Conservancy University of the Cumberlands Kentucky Tourism Council Union College Southeast Community College Americana Productions Somerset Community College Kentucky Water Watch

Brief History - The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council was authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1973. The first president of the council was R.L. Brown of Williamsburg, Kentucky. The first coordinator, Jim Geiger served as coordinator from 1974 to 1995. William H. Dempsey of Williamsburg and Ira Linville of Harlan, Kentucky prepared the United States Department of Agriculture application. The council was incorporated in 1992 and received a non profit status in 1993. The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. serves 10 counties in extreme Southeast Kentucky. The counties served include Bell, Clay, Estill, Harlan, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Rockcastle and Whitley Counties.  The Cumberland Valley RC&D office is staffed by the USDA/NRCS and the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council. The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. office is located in London, Kentucky.

Rodney D. Hendrickson, Cumberland Valley RC&D Coordinator - Mr. Hendrickson has served as the Cumberland Valley RC&D Coordinator since October 1995. Before serving as RC&D Coordinator Hendrickson served as District Conservationist in Harlan, Kentucky form 1982 to 1995.

Cumberland Valley RC&D Council Office Staff

Brenda Green, RC&D Program Assistant - Ms. Green has served as Cumberland Valley RC&D Program Assistant since 2004.

Hiram Whitaker, President- Mr. has served as president of the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council since 2000.  Mr. Whitaker is a retired vocational agriculture teacher from Tyner,  Kentucky.  Mr. currently produces commercial vegetables on his Jackson County farm.  Mr. Whitaker is Chairman of the Jackson County Conservation
District.

Ernest Smith, Vice President- Mr. Smith has served as vice president of the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council
since 1999. Mr. Smith is a retired elementary school principal from Evarts, Kentucky.  Mr. Smith is the Chairman of the Harlan County Conservation District Board of Supervisors and has been active with the Cumberland Valley
RC&D Council since 1976.

Jo Ann Corum, Secretary/Treasurer- Ms. Corum was has served as secretary-treasurer of the council since 1998. Jo Ann is the owner and operator of Kentucky Copy Center in Manchester, Kentucky. Jo Ann also serves on the Clay County Conservation District Board of Supervisors. 

The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. has completed hundreds of Resource Conservation and Development projects during it’s history. Below is a list of just of a few of our more interesting projects.

PRIDE Homeowner Septic System RC&D Project:

From 2002 through mid 2005 The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council has installed 1,075 septic systems at a cost for $4,000,000.  The septic systems have been installed free of charge for low-income homeowners.  The systems replace "straight pipes" and failing septic systems.  A "straight pipe is when a family has no waste-water treatment at all just pipe going straight to the nearest stream.  The grant is being funded by the Eastern Kentucky PRIDE Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  This is an ongoing project.

Landslide Prevention in Eastern Kentucky:

A color brochure titled "Landslide Prevention in Eastern Kentucky" was published by the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc.. The brochure contains the following headings.

• What are Factors that Cause Landslides? 
• What are Some Ways to Prevent Landslides? 
• Where do I Get Landslide Insurance? 
• Who Do Homeowners and Builders Contact for Technical Assistance

Outdoor Classrooms:

The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. has assisted numerous schools in planning, funding, and implementing outdoor classrooms and environmental education centers.  The Clay County High School Outdoor Classroom has received national recognition.

Upper Cumberland Wastewater Treatment RC&D Project:

A Harlan County community will be the first in Kentucky to test a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system.  Over 20 homes in a Crummies Creek mobile home park have been connected to an AdvanTex Treatment System.  Each mobile home has an individual septic tank. The wastewater gravity flows from the individual septic tanks to a large underground tank. The wastewater is then pumped through layers of a synthetic filtering material.  The filtering system consists of several layers of fiber cloth.  At this stage the wastewater is as clear as tap water.  From the filtering system the wastewater is pumped through an underground irrigation system on the hill behind the mobile home park.  There is no discharge into local streams.  The AdvanTex system has been used with great success in surrounding states but has never been tried in Kentucky.  The septic systems were failing, according to Gary Lewis, owner of the mobile home park.  Sewage was finding its way into Crummies Creek and a small tributary stream adjacent to the project site.   The project is a demonstration and is sponsored by the Harlan County Conservation District, Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Kentucky Division of Water, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The project is being funded in part by an EPA nonpoint source pollution grant to the local conservation district.

Whitley County Forage Improvement RC&D Project:

The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council arranged for the Whitley County Farm Bureau to receive a $30,000 grant from the Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund to purchase a continuous in-line wrapper and a no till pasture seeder.  The equipment is available to Whitley County farmers at a very low price. The equipment was purchased in 2004.

Rockhouse Creek Watershed Project:

The first construction phase of the Rockhouse Creek Watershed RC&D Project has been completed.  Smith Brothers Inc. of Manchester, Kentucky was  awarded a contract to do streambank protection on two sites in the Rockhouse Creek Watershed.  The failing streambanks were protected by constructing gabion walls.  The first site to be stabilized was the confluence of Puncheon Camp Branch and Rockhouse Creek.  On this site the streambank had failed to the 
point that a home was in serious danger.  The second site to be stabilized was the community of Laurel Fork.

The streambank protection is only the first part of a very large watershed project.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently conducting extensive studies to determine the most effective, cost efficient, 
and environmentally sound methods of reducing flooding in the Rockhouse Creek Watershed.  The City of Hyden, Leslie County Conservation District, and Leslie County Fiscal Court are co-sponsors of the project.  Cumberland Valley RC&D board member Angie Muncy will serve as the contracting officer for this first phase of the project.

Wilderness Trail Beef Cattle Marketing Alliance RC&D Project:

The RC&D project began in 1998 when several farmers from an 8-county area within the RC&D area formed the marketing alliance.  The farmers were assisted by the UK Agriculture Extension Agents in the area.  The farmers group their cattle into 50,000 pound tractor trailer loads.  The cattle are grouped according to size and sex.  The cattle are then marketed directly to the buyer. Several beef cattle feedlots in the Midwest regularly bid on the cattle as well 
as local bidders.  It is not uncommon to have seven or eight buyers bidding for the cattle.  The farmer is then contacted and told the bid price for his cattle.  The farmer then decides to accept or reject the highest bid.  The farmer knows exactly how much his cattle will bring before they are ever loaded and leave the farm.

Shortly after the Alliance was formed the group asked the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council to adopt the program as an RC&D project.  The Alliance asked the RC&D Council to help the Alliance pursue grant funding for about ½ million 
dollars to construct a permanent beef cattle grouping and marketing facility.  In the fall of 2002 a Cumberland Valley RC&D Council grant was funded to construct the facility.  The grand opening was held in June of 2003. The 
facility is also used by local 4H and FFA groups for livestock shows and competition.

Before the project was implemented beef cattle producers in southeast Kentucky were very disadvantaged in marketing their product.  There was no strong draw to bring buyers into the area.  With the Wilderness Trail Beef Cattle Alliance the buyers are guaranteed good quality healthy cattle, therefore they receive a premium price.

In the first 3 years of operation, 138 Southeast Kentucky cattle farmers sold over 7.5 million pounds of cattle through the program.  A total of 10,533 head of cattle had been sold at a gross sales price of just under a half million 
dollars during this same time period.

Rockhouse Creek Watershed Project:

The first construction phase of the Rockhouse Creek Watershed RC&D Project has been completed.  Smith Brothers Inc. of Manchester, Kentucky was  awarded a contract to do streambank protection on two sites in the Rockhouse Creek Watershed.  The failing streambanks were protected by constructing gabion walls.  The first site to be stabilized was the confluence of Puncheon Camp Branch and Rockhouse Creek.  On this site the streambank had failed to the 
point that a home was in serious danger.  The second site to be stabilized was the community of Laurel Fork.

The streambank protection is only the first part of a very large watershed project.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently conducting extensive studies to determine the most effective, cost efficient, 
and environmentally sound methods of reducing flooding in the Rockhouse Creek Watershed.  The City of Hyden, Leslie County Conservation District, and Leslie County Fiscal Court are co-sponsors of the project.  Cumberland Valley RC&D board member Angie Muncy will serve as the contracting officer for this first phase of the project.

Pigeon Roost Watershed Project:

In june of 1981 the City of McKee, Kentucky was hit hard by a flash flood. The Jackson County Conservation District and City of McKee proposed a flood control project be adopted as a Cumberland Valley RC&D project. Funding for the project came to fruition in 1988 with the construction of a concrete floodwall and stream bank stabilizion measures that protected a local factory from flooding. In 1994 the first flood water retarding structure was completed in the watershed. In 1998 a second multi-purpose reservoir was completed. This structure provides drinking water along with additional flood protection for the City of McKee. The project was funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service Watershed Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service has plans to build a third watershed lake.

Estill Co. Septic System Demonstration Project:

This $365,000 project includes installing 98 septic systems in a very low income Appalachian community. The project also includes non-point source water pollution education. The project is being funded by an Environmental Protection Agency 319(h) program, the Estill County Fiscal Court, Estill County Conservation District and other project cooperators. This project was completed in 2004.

Southeast Kentucky Agriculture Marketing Cooperative RC&D Project:

The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council prepared a grant on behalf of the Southeast Kentucky Agriculture Marketing Cooperative to construct a $600,000 vegetable marketing facility.  A $300,000 grant proposal was funded by the Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund.  The remaining $300,000 will be funded by the local vegetable farmers.  The facility is currently being constructed near Corbin, Kentucky.  The cooperative was originally organized by the RC&D Council in 1988.

Stinking Creek Watershed Nonpoint Source Pollution RC&D Project:

The four year Stinking Creek Watershed Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Prevention Project has been completed after completing twenty-nine major milestones.  The Knox County project began in 2001.  The grand finale included 
a public meeting on a farm where three Best Management Practices were installed, and another public meeting with the Dewitt School PTO where a video about the project was shown. 

The goal of the Stinking Creek project was "to educate the local residents and public officials on alternative ways to solve their natural resource concerns related to nonpoint water pollution".  The public's awareness and behavior 
regarding water quality on Stinking Creek seems to have improved as a result of the project.  For example, the five illegal dump sites cleaned up through this project remain garbage free because people no longer use these sites to dispose of their garbage. 

The total funding for the project was over $105,000.  Funding for the project was provided in part by a 319h grant from the Environmental Protection Agency through the Kentucky Division of Water, to the Knox County Fiscal Court.  The 
RC&D Council's partners in the project included the Knox County Conservation District and eleven other agencies and organizations.

Cumberland Valley RC&D Video/DVD:

Americana Productions has just completed a 13 minute video documenting the projects and history of the RC&D Council.  If you would like to have the video shown to your organization please phone the council's office.

Christ's Outreach Camp for the Blind: 

The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council has assisted Christ's Outreach for the Blind in developing an 800 acre camp for blind children.  The RC&D Council assisted the camp's board of directors with obtaining grant funding to construct two outdoor classrooms. The outdoor classrooms are specifically designed to teach the blind about the environment.

Low Impact Logging Project:

This project included the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. hosting three low impact logging field days. The highlight of the field days were horse logging demonstrations by Modern Horse Loggers, Inc.. Modern Horse Loggers, Inc. demonstrated how logging with draft horses could be more profitable and cause much less soil erosion than conventional logging with heavy machinery. There were also programs on the use of portable sawmills and marketing of wood products. The project was funded by an Natural Resources Conservation Service Challenge Grant. This $7,500 project was completed in 1998.

Southeast Kentucky Tourism Feasibility Study: 

This project consisted of an in depth study of the tourism potential of Harlan, Leslie, and Letcher Counties. The Southeast Kentucky Tourism Feasibility Study to a great extent targeted eco-tourism. The cost of the feasibility study was $50,000. The project was funded by a grant received by the Cumberland Valley RC&D Council, Inc. from the Appalachian Regional Commission and was completed in 1998.

2005- PRIDE Homeowners Septic System RC&D Project chosen to represent NRCS as the agency's success story at the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation

2005- Southeast Region Earth Team Volunteer Award - This award was for having the top volunteer program in Southeast United States.

2004- Southeast Region Most Outstanding Project Award- the PRIDE Septic System RC&D Project was chosen the most outstanding project in the Southeast United States

2004- Southeast Region RC&D Coordinator of the Year Award- Cumberland Valley RC&D Coordinator Rodney Hendrickson was chosen the outstanding coordinator in the Southeast United States

2002- Envi Environmental Award- Coordinator Rodney Hendrickson was chosen as one of three finalists for the Rogers-Bickford Environmental Leadership Award.

2001- Governor's Environmental Excellence Award.  The Cumberland Valley RC&D Council was presented Community Environmental Excellence Award