146.440 Uses and purposes of nature preserves and natural areas. In order to secure for the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky of present and future generations the benefits of an environment having one or more of the characteristics of a natural area, the office is hereby empowered to acquire in the name of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to hold in trust for the benefit of the general public an adequate system of nature preserves and natural areas in the manner herein set forth, and for the following uses and purposes: (1) For scientific research in such fields as, but not limited to, ecology, taxonomy, genetics, forestry, pharmacology, agriculture, soil science, geology, paleontology, ornithology, herpetology, mammalogy, biology, agronomy, conservation, and all other natural sciences; entomology, (2) For the teaching of biology, natural history, ecology, geology, conservation and other related subjects; (3) As habitats for plant and animal species and other natural objects; (4) As reservoirs of natural materials; (5) As places of natural interest and beauty; (6) As living illustrations of our natural heritage wherein one may observe and experience natural biotic and ecological systems of the earth and their processes; (7) To promote understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic, cultural, scientific and spiritual values of our unpolluted and unspoiled environment; (8) For the preservation and protection of nature preserves against modification or encroachment resulting from occupation, development or other use which would destroy their natural or aesthetic conditions; (9) As places where people may observe nature's web of life and our natural heritage, and as reminders of the vital human dependence upon unspoiled natural areas. Effective: July 14, 2018 History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 29, sec. 25, effective July 14, 2018. -- Created 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 118, sec. 7.