Refinery Green Belt Nature Conservation Habitats

About the Program
Marathon Petroleum Corporaon, located in Catlesburg, Kentucky, is a refinery that produces numerous oil products. They also manage the nearby Savage Branch Wildlife Reserve. The goal of the 320-acre woodland is to not only support the local habitat and nave wildlife, but to also provide hands-on learning opportunies for the community.

Practices and Impacts

• To diversify the local forest and control for invasive species, 290 acres of forest are currently being managed and monitored. To this end, the team has also planted nave rivercane with the goal of restoring the canebrake ecosystem in Kentucky.
• The team developed and maintains a 2,500-square-foot pond on the reserve to support native Kentucky toad and frog species. Pond enhancement efforts include the introducon of native plants to the perimeter for egg cluster attachment, small trees to the pond floor for perching and cover and algae to support pond macro-invertebrates. Each year, 15 school groups visit the pond and monitor tadpole and adult individual numbers. In the past three years of monitoring, nearly 9,000 tadpoles have been counted by students.
• For 22 breeding seasons, team members have been monitoring and maintaining 17 eastern bluebird nesting boxes with the goal of providing greater nesting opportunities for the species. In the three years that the team has been recording their observations, with the aid of local elementary and middle schools, 99 eggs and 93 successful rearings have been recorded.