Highlands Sanctuary

Highlands Sanctuary, Inc. is a nonprofit conservation organization associated with The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, a network dedicated to protecting forests, prairies, waterways, wildlife habitat, and archaeological landscapes in southern Ohio. The organization’s work is concentrated in the forested Appalachian counties of the state and is framed around conserving representative portions of the Great Eastern Temperate Forest as it occurs in the Ohio region. The organization has operated through the Arc of Appalachia since 1995. Its oldest and principal preserve is the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, located in Highland and Ross counties. The sanctuary protects the Rocky Fork Gorge, the lower roughly ten-mile section of Rocky Fork Creek between the Rocky Fork State Park dam and the creek’s confluence with Paint Creek below the Paint Creek Reservoir dam. The gorge is a notable karst landscape, with dolomite cliffs, caves and grottos, narrow canyons, sinkholes, springs, seeps, and other features produced by the interaction of water and soluble bedrock. The preserve has been described in reference material as covering approximately 2,068 to 2,200 acres, with the difference reflecting varying descriptions or stages of land accounting. Conservation at Highlands Sanctuary combines land acquisition, habitat stewardship, ecological restoration, public access, and environmental education. Stewardship objectives include increasing the abundance of native plants and animals, restoring ecological balance in natural communities, and retaining scenic settings for visitors. Public programming has included guided hikes, workshops, nature retreats, and nature-literacy courses. The Appalachian Forest Museum serves as the principal visitor hub for the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, with trails available to the public during selected weekends from spring through fall. The Arc of Appalachia’s preserve system had protected 4,268 acres across 15 preserve regions by 2016, according to the referenced encyclopedia material. Its holdings and managed sites include forest preserves, native prairies, river bluffs, gorges, and places containing ancient Indigenous earthworks. The organization has also worked with the Ohio History Connection to manage Fort Hill State Memorial and Serpent Mound. Fort Hill protects a large mature forest and a substantial Hopewell cultural earthwork enclosure, while Serpent Mound preserves a renowned earthen effigy shaped as a serpent and the surrounding ridgetop landscape. Archaeological preservation is a secondary but important part of the organization’s mission. In cooperation with nonprofit partners, the Arc of Appalachia has helped acquire or protect Junction Earthworks and Spruce Hill Earthworks near Chillicothe and has expanded holdings around Fort Hill. Other projects identified in the reference material include efforts to expand Junction Earthworks through the proposed acquisition of Steel Earthworks and fundraising for Glenford Fort Earthworks in Perry County. The organization’s preserves provide habitat for state-threatened and state-endangered species, imperiled natural communities, and native prairie ecosystems. Funding is described as coming primarily from private donations, supplemented by grants, including support through Ohio’s Clean Ohio program. Highlands Sanctuary is therefore best understood not as a conventional consumer brand, but as a nonprofit conservation and public-education organization whose identity is expressed through protected landscapes, ecological stewardship, archaeological preservation, and visitor programs.

Highlands Sanctuary, Inc. operates under the broader identity of The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The Arc of Appalachia has been active since 1995, when its conservation work began focusing on the protection and stewardship of natural areas in the Appalachian counties of southern Ohio. Rather than functioning as a commercial enterprise, the organization developed as a nonprofit land-conservation network that acquires important properties, restores ecological communities, maintains trails, and provides educational access. The Highlands Nature Sanctuary became the system’s oldest preserve and its central landscape. It protects the Rocky Fork Gorge, a distinctive dolomite and karst formation extending along the lower Rocky Fork Creek in Highland and Ross counties. The gorge includes vertical rock walls, grottos, canyons, sinkholes, springs, and seeps. These features, together with the surrounding Appalachian forest, give the preserve both ecological and recreational importance. The sanctuary’s visitor infrastructure includes public trails and the Appalachian Forest Museum, which provides an interpretive base for visitors and educational activities. The organization’s conservation model is based on protecting connected or representative natural communities rather than preserving isolated scenic points alone. Its stated stewardship goals include maximizing native biodiversity, restoring balance in damaged or altered ecosystems, and protecting natural beauty for public enjoyment. The preserve network includes mature forests, gorges, prairies, river bluffs, and other habitats that support state-threatened and state-endangered species and imperiled natural communities. By 2016, the Arc of Appalachia was reported to have completed protection of 4,268 acres in 15 preserve regions. Public education has been a continuing part of the organization’s work. In addition to hiking access, programs have included guided walks, workshops, retreats, and courses designed to improve public knowledge of local ecology and natural history. The organization’s funding model relies primarily on private donations, with grant support helping finance land acquisition and conservation projects. The Clean Ohio grant program is identified as an important source of assistance in expanding protected holdings. The organization later broadened its activities beyond biological conservation to include the protection of ancient Indigenous earthworks. In partnership with other nonprofit organizations, it helped acquire and preserve Junction Earthworks and Spruce Hill Earthworks near Chillicothe and expanded land holdings around Fort Hill. It also identified Steel Earthworks, adjacent to Junction Earthworks, and Glenford Fort Earthworks as projects requiring additional protection. This work reflects a secondary mission of preserving archaeological sites within larger natural landscapes. The Arc of Appalachia also entered into management arrangements with the Ohio History Connection for Fort Hill State Memorial and Serpent Mound. Fort Hill encompasses a large mature forest and a ridgetop enclosure associated with the Hopewell culture. Serpent Mound protects a large earthen serpent effigy on a ridgetop above Ohio Brush Creek. These managed sites extend the organization’s role from private preserve stewardship into public interpretation and care of culturally significant state memorial landscapes. The preserve system has included Highlands Nature Sanctuary, Spruce Hill Earthworks, Morgan’s Fork, Chalet Nivale, Plum Run Prairie, Kamama Prairie, Hope Springs Woods, Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve, Rock Run, Ohio River Bluffs, Boone Nature Preserve, Samson Woods, Quiverheart Gorge, Serpent Mound, and Fort Hill State Memorial, among others. Some sites are owned by the organization, while others are managed in partnership with public or nonprofit entities. The available reference material does not establish a current acreage total, leadership roster, legal status update, or complete chronology of acquisitions. Highlands Sanctuary is therefore documented primarily through its conservation mission, signature Rocky Fork Gorge preserve, Arc of Appalachia network, educational programs, and archaeological-preservation partnerships.

• 2016

  Protection of 4,268 acres reported

  [1]Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports that the Arc of Appalachia had completed protection of 4,268 acres across 15 preserve regions.

• 1995

  Arc of Appalachia begins operating

  [1]Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The Arc of Appalachia begins its conservation work to create and steward nature preserves in the forested Appalachian counties of southern Ohio.

• Highlands Nature Sanctuary becomes the core preserve

  [1]Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The Highlands Nature Sanctuary is established as the oldest preserve in the system, protecting the Rocky Fork Gorge and surrounding Appalachian forest in Highland and Ross counties.

• Management of Ohio cultural memorials

  [1]Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  The organization undertakes contractual management work for the Ohio History Connection at Fort Hill State Memorial and Serpent Mound.

• Expansion into earthwork preservation

  [1]Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org

  With nonprofit partners, the organization helps protect Junction Earthworks and Spruce Hill Earthworks and expands land holdings in the Fort Hill region.

A nonprofit Appalachian conservation organization combining habitat protection, ecological restoration, public nature access, environmental education, and preservation of Indigenous earthworks in southern Ohio.

• Nature preserve

  Highlands Nature Sanctuary

  The organization’s oldest and signature preserve, located in Highland and Ross counties, Ohio. It protects the lower Rocky Fork Gorge, a karst landscape of dolomite cliffs, grottos, canyons, sinkholes, springs, seeps, and Appalachian forest. Public offerings include hiking trails and interpretation through the Appalachian Forest Museum, with visitation described as available on selected weekends from spring through fall.

• Environmental education facility

  Appalachian Forest Museum

  The main visitor and interpretation hub for the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. It supports public understanding of Appalachian forests and the preserve’s natural features and serves visitors using the sanctuary’s trail system.

• Conservation network · 1995

  Arc of Appalachia Preserve System

  A network of protected landscapes associated with Highlands Sanctuary, including forests, prairies, gorges, river bluffs, archaeological sites, and habitat for threatened or imperiled species. The system combines land acquisition, stewardship, restoration, public access, and environmental education.

• Managed cultural and natural site

  Fort Hill State Memorial

  A site managed under contract with the Ohio History Connection. It protects approximately 1,300 acres of mature forest and a large ridgetop enclosure associated with the Hopewell culture. The property combines natural-area conservation with interpretation of ancient Indigenous earthworks.

• Managed archaeological site

  Serpent Mound

  An internationally recognized earthen serpent effigy on a ridgetop overlooking Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County. The site is owned by the Ohio History Connection and managed through an arrangement involving the Arc of Appalachia.

• Southern Ohio preserve acquisition program

  Southern Ohio

  A continuing conservation effort to acquire and protect ecologically significant forests, prairies, gorges, riverlands, and other natural areas in the Appalachian counties of southern Ohio.

  Outcome. By 2016, the Arc of Appalachia reported protection of 4,268 acres across 15 preserve regions.

  Source
• Earthworks preservation initiatives

  Southern Ohio

  A set of projects focused on preserving Hopewell and other ancient Indigenous earthworks within larger natural landscapes, including Junction Earthworks, Spruce Hill Earthworks, Fort Hill, Steel Earthworks, and Glenford Fort Earthworks.

  Outcome. Junction Earthworks and Spruce Hill Earthworks were identified as protected through work with nonprofit partners; expansion and fundraising projects remained in progress in the referenced material.

  Source

• Combine ecological and archaeological preservationStrategy

  Background

  The organization’s primary mission concerns biological diversity and natural landscapes, while southern Ohio also contains major ancient Indigenous earthworks and culturally significant ridgetop sites.

  Action taken

  Highlands Sanctuary and the Arc of Appalachia expanded their preservation work to include earthworks and partnerships involving Fort Hill, Serpent Mound, Junction Earthworks, and Spruce Hill Earthworks.

  Aftermath

  The organization developed a dual conservation role encompassing natural habitats and archaeological landscapes.

  Source

• Use donations and grants to support land acquisitionStrategy

  Background

  The preserve system requires continuing funding for property acquisition, stewardship, restoration, and visitor access.

  Action taken

  The organization relies primarily on private donations and supplements acquisition work with grants, including support through the Clean Ohio program.

  Aftermath

  Grant-assisted acquisition contributed to the expansion of the preserve network, although no complete financial history is provided in the available material.

  Source

1. 1Highlands Sanctuaryen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Arc of Appalachia Preserve Systemarcofappalachia.org