For immediate release July 14, 2008
FLAT ROCK CEDAR GLADE AND BARRENS HIKE SLATED FOR JULY 19
Nashville, Tenn. – The Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Natural Areas will host a guided hike at Flat Rock Cedar Glade and Barrens State Natural Area in Rutherford County near Murfreesboro on July 19. Participants should meet at 8 a.m. in the Target parking lot off Bell Road in Nashville, or they also may meet at the Flat Rock State Natural Area parking area on Factory Road off Hall Hill Pike.
Natural Areas Botanist Andrea Bishop will take hikers on an easy to moderate four-mile walk through flat rocky limestone outcroppings, oak and grassland barrens and mixed hardwood forest. Along the way, hikers will try to identify some of Flat Rock’s native plants, including various grasses, goat’s rue, southern prairie dock, wavy leaf purple coneflower, wild quinine and aromatic sumac.
“Flat Rock Cedar Glade and Barrens is one of Tennessee’s most ecologically significant preserves,” Bishop said. “This type of cedar glade habitat is very rare and a real treat to see.”
Participants should bring water and lunch, and they should wear hats and appropriate footwear and dress in layers. They also should bring sunscreen and insect repellant. Reservations are required for the guided hike and can be made by contacting Andrea Bishop by phone at (615) 532-0431 or by e-mail at [email protected] by July 17.
Flat Rock Cedar Glade and Barrens is an 846-acre natural area in the geographic center of the Central Basin in Rutherford County. Exposed limestone outcroppings are a common feature of this area’s karst geology, and this region supports a mosaic of forest types, oak barrens, open grassland barrens and cedar glades. Small creek tributaries and flat, gravelly wash areas provide specialized habitat for rare plants, including the federally endangered leafy prairie clover, the state listed yellow sunnybells, low nut rush and Boykin’s milkwort.
More information about Flat Rock Cedar Glade and Barrens State Natural Area, including maps and directions, can be found at https://cleanairtn.org/environment/na/natareas/flatrock.
The hike at Flat Rock Cedar Glade and Barrens is part of a series of monthly, guided field trips to Tennessee State Natural Areas offered by the department’s Division of Natural Areas. Tennessee has 79 designated State Natural Areas throughout the state, covering approximately 110,000 acres of ecologically significant lands. More information about Tennessee’s natural areas program, including a complete list of all natural areas and scheduled field trips, can be found at https://cleanairtn.org/environment/na/.###
For more information contact: Tammy Heise |
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