FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A new wildlife management area has opened in eastern Kentucky.
The Ross Creek Wildlife Management Area spans nearly 1,000 acres (405 hectares) across a bend in the Kentucky River near Lock and Dam 13 in Estill and Lee counties, the Department for Fish and Wildlife Resources said in a statement.
The former cattle farm was recently restored as a natural area and opened this month to public use including turkey hunting, officials said.
The Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program, which is operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, acquired the property as part of a project to restore Ross Creek.
Restoration work included creating new stream meanders and wetlands and planting more than 15,000 trees and shrubs in the valley along Ross Creek. The work will reduce erosion and the amount of sediment flowing into the Kentucky River.
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