The nation’s largest urban forest is getting just a little bit better.
The Kentucky General Assembly awarded the Jefferson Memorial Forest $2.5 million this year, building on $1.75 million allocated by the 2023-2024 Metro Budget.
These funds will help continue the construction to Tom Wallace Recreation Area started late last year. Improvements to this area were the focus of the latest Jefferson Memorial Forest Master Plan. Councilman Dan Seum said this master plan will be reviewed this year.
Here’s Jefferson Memorial Forest by the numbers:
- $2.7 million. The cost of the improvements to the Tom Wallace Recreation Area.
- 6,900 acres. The area covered by the forest — that’s ~5,227 football fields.
- $135,000. The amount included in Mayor Craig Greenberg’s 2024-2025 budget to design + install a Louisville Loop trailhead and path inside the forest, adding another access point to the ~100-mile trail system.
- 1945. The year the forest was established.
