Trigg County Judge-executive Hollis Alexander said it’s disturbing to discover that budget cuts may be coming to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
Alexander told the News Edge the cut to the recreation and heritage department could have adverse effects on Trigg County and beyond.
A budget cut could mean the U.S. Forest Service would close or severely scale back services at attractions like welcome stations, Energy Lake Campground, picnic areas, firearm shooting ranges, the Homeplace 1850s, Brandon Springs, Woodlands Nature Station, and not provide maintenance of trails.
The Homeplace 1850s alone averaged nearly 35,000 visitors a year before the pandemic hit.
Alexander said he is working closely with Lyon County Judge-executive Wade White and Stewart County, Tennessee Mayor Robin Brandon to monitor the situation. The three local officials will also try to determine where the nearly $1.8 million in funding being taken away annually will be going.
Alexander added he thinks there could be something the U.S. Forest Service is not sharing about the recreation area.
He said now is the time to talk with Kentucky and national officials about the potential budget cuts.
A scaling back of services is nothing new to the 170,000-acre recreation area located between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The Tennessee Valley Authority closed Empire Farm and Silo Overlook and left both to decay before turning over management of LBL to the USDA Forest Service in 1999.
In 2012, the Youth Station, which served as an environmental education hub for LBL, was closed and bulldozed.
