Lexington couple creates 'Enchanted Forest' for rescued wildlife

A Lexington couple is turning their dream into reality as they create a sanctuary for rescued and injured wildlife.

Mark Blankenship is a Georgetown Police Detective, and his wife, PK Blankenship is a dispatcher for the Lexington Police Department.

Both are stressful, demanding jobs, but when the Blankenships have free time, you’ll likely find them on their 100 acres of forest and fields in Madison County near Waco.

PK says she can’t wait to retire and live on the one hundred acres. “I take this any day. This is paradise for me. Absolutely love it. I could stay down here all the time, and we will be soon. So, this time next year, we'll be down here all the time. I'll be retired, and I'll be able to wake up to this every morning. So, it'll be grand.”

The land borders the Daniel Boone National Forest, and the Blankenships are eager to build the John C. Cavendish Sanctuary, home of the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Rescue.

The couple is passionate about caring for neglected or injured wildlife.

Right now, those animals have a temporary place to recover at the Blankenship’s home. Two years ago they didn’t know where the land would come from for their sanctuary.

In stepped Rusty Reichenbach who had inherited the property from, John C. Cavendish, and donated it to the Blankenship’s non-profit sanctuary.

Asked how big that was Mark says, “Its life changing. You know, we had been looking for the right place for several years to go ahead and purchase and get it started. Primarily we're going to be rehabilitating native wildlife, which would be things like foxes, raccoons, possums, bats, native reptiles. I will eventually get my federal permit to do raptors, which will be your hawks, your owls.”

PK can’t wait to have more space for the rescues. “I've always loved animals, and it's just always been a passion. We started out with dogs and cats. When you were growing up, you had guinea pigs and iguanas and things like that. But now we've kind of upscaled it. So, you know, anything from now, we've got Sulcata Tortoises and Redfoot Tortoises, a bearded dragon that we've all taken in, there have been rescues, and now out here the sky's the limit. So, we can't wait to get out here and really start going.”

The Blankenships had a large storage building constructed to house large equipment like mowers and side-by-side utility vehicles. There’s also a house on the property that needs renovation and three ponds where the couple are stocking fish.

Mark explained how they could use the fish in the ponds. “Like the raccoons will come and they'll get small fish out of ponds. So, when you have an orphan litter, and you're trying to teach them how to fend for themselves, once they're big enough to be released, we can come down here with a cast net and catch smaller fish, and we'll put them into like a kiddie pool that's got water in it to teach, help them learn how to fend for themselves, how to forage.”

PK says they’ve learned on their own, but she also credits several wildlife rescuers for sharing their knowledge. “Love listening to other rehabbers that have been in the game for quite some time. Jamie (Rowe) with Grit and Grace (Farm & Wildlife Rehabilitation in Cynthiana). She's a godsend. She's taught us a lot. Nolin River (Wildlife in Glendale) with Mary Key, Wolf Run, you know, sanctuary in Nicholasville with Mary Kindred. All those people. They have no problem helping you. When you need the help, they jump in.”

In addition to caring for rescued wildlife, the Blankenships would like to open up the sanctuary for nature education classes.

PK says, “I really want to give back to the community. So, for sure, we'll definitely have educational programs out here for school kids anywhere from you know, if they want to bring their infant out here to the age of 99 or above. We want to teach everybody about nature, why it's important, how to keep the ecosystem going. Eventually, we might like to build walking trails for everybody to come out here and enjoy, because there's so many things that that are indigenous here to Kentucky, that many people just don't know about, because if you don't get out and explore, you won't know.”

The Blankenship’s hope to have the John C. Cavendish Sanctuary fully open by next Fall although they say volunteers are always welcome to help before then. More information on their work is at Enchanted Forest Wildlife Rescue of Kentucky’s Facebook page.

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