Another Step Toward Sustainable Recreation

Another Step Toward Sustainable Recreation

Dear Friends, Over the course of many years and with public involvement, we have temporarily closed a few facilities to help make Land Between the Lakes more financially sustainable. These temporary closures were part of the 2012 Budget Reduction meetings, where you helped the Forest Service develop a plan to deal with reductions in the budget. This is one more step toward sustainable recreation. So what does this mean? In several locations, structures and unused wells still exist. This adds $730,000 to our deferred maintenance backlog. Removal of the remaining structures will begin soon and will help to provide safer…
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Volunteering – All in a Day’s Work

Volunteering – All in a Day’s Work

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications apprentice at Land Between The Lakes How important are volunteers at Land Between The Lakes? While driving on the north end of Land Between The Lakes, volunteer Richard Marlar noticed a vehicle stuck in a ditch. The man inside the vehicle had been trapped there overnight, without his medication. Richard recognized the danger, called law enforcement, and stayed with the man until help arrived. Without his aid, the man may have been stuck there even longer. “Volunteers like Richard give so much to Land Between The Lakes, and ask nothing in return,” says Gary Hawkins,…
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Fire Ants in Land Between The Lakes

Fire Ants in Land Between The Lakes

Submitted by University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Department of Entomology Imported Fire Ants in Land Between The Lakes? Imported fire ants (IFA) have recently begun to appear in the Land Between The Lakes and in parts of Calloway county, KY. Most of the mounds in Land Between The Lakes have been found in Tennessee, but a few have been found in Kentucky. IFA may look like ordinary ants but their behavior is anything but ordinary! IFA display an aggressive behavior and build mound shaped nests. The top of these mounds will have a freshly tilled appearance. Mounds are typically…
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King of the Snakes

King of the Snakes

Submitted by John Pollpeter, Lead Naturalist at Woodlands Nature Station Just like the lion is “king” of the beasts, the black or common kingsnake is “king” of the snakes.  Kingsnakes regularly eat snakes, including venomous ones, as they are partially immune to the venom.  Kingsnakes are not venomous. The black kingsnake will strike the rattlesnake behind the head, grasping it tightly as it coils itself around the other snake. The coils slowly constrict the rattlesnake, killing it rather quickly. After a time, the kingsnake will uncoil and begin eating, head first to unhinge its jaws, and swallowing the dead rattler.…
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