Sustainable Recreation Arrives

Sustainable Recreation Arrives

Dear Friends, Over these past four years we have been adjusting and adapting our programs and services in order to balance our budget as it “down sized.”  We’re in better shape than other Forest Service units because of our prioritizing strategies we worked on together in our 2012 Budget Reduction Open Houses. Today we want to include you in our part of the region-wide effort to achieve sustainable recreation. Sustainable Recreation = Recreation that Lasts Our regional facilities budget has decreased by more than half and our recreation operations budget has gone down by 12 percent since 2012. We are…
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Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area Fox Hollow Public Meeting Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area Fox Hollow Public Meeting Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The following contains meeting notes captured during the Fox Hollow public meeting on Wednesday, June 22, 2016. The Fox Hollow meeting convened at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at the Forest Service Administrative Office located at 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, KY 42211. The meeting was open to the public: Sixteen members of the public and six Forest Service employees were in attendance. Forest Service Staff present: Tina Tilley, Area Supervisor John Westbrook, Environmental Stewardship Department Manager Barbara Wysock, Area Planner Jared Baker, Budget Officer Josh Frye, Public Affairs Specialist Christine Bombard, Executive Assistant Introduction Tina Tilley opened…
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What land management practices and goals can be utilized with minimal public resistance?

What land management practices and goals can be utilized with minimal public resistance?

What land management practices and goals can be utilized with minimal public resistance? The staff at Land Between The Lakes is committed to working collaboratively with members of the public on land management activities. This will involve engaging the public early and often before proposals are developed. This process allows the Forest Service to share potential management actions to be considered based on existing conditions on the ground. A collaborative process involves a two way conversation. It will allow the Forest Service to better understand the concerns of the public and address those concerns during the development of a proposal.…
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What land management practices do you anticipate suspending in light of public concerns? Pisgah Project? How long will these practices be suspended?

What land management practices do you anticipate suspending in light of public concerns? Pisgah Project? How long will these practices be suspended?

What land management practices do you anticipate suspending in light of public concerns? Pisgah Project? How long will these practices be suspended? The Pisgah Bay project has been cancelled as proposed. The Forest Service will be moving forward with public involvement on some of the infrastructure related projects within the proposal. Some of the projects being considered include: Replacing culverts, while improving conditions on approximately 31.7 miles of Forest Service roads; Rerouting of approximately 2.7 miles of the North/South Trail to stop degradation of the landscape; and Incorporating road access to a backcountry campsite area. Currently there are two timber…
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Public Listening Session 3

Public Listening Session 3

Editor’s Note: The following notes come from a listening session/meeting we held with members of the public. The notes were supplied by a third party professional; we submit these notes without changes except to fix name spellings. If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you. Jan Bush Land Between The Lakes Listening Session Notes Stewart County Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center June 16, 2015 6:00-8:30pm Welcome: Jerry Mayes (facilitator) welcomed the approximately 180 attendees and thanked everyone for attending tonight’s meeting.  He announced that this is the 2nd public meeting and 3rd informational meeting that the…
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Where does the money go?

Where does the money go?

  Q&A Budget The following question was asked at our June 11, 2015 public listening session at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park. Where does the money go? Funding – Budget Our annual operating budget in fiscal year 2014 was approximately $12.3 million:  $8.1 million in federal appropriations and $4.2 million in retained receipts. Budget Structure The budget structure determined by Congress for Land Between The Lakes provides two sources of annual funding: 1) An appropriated amount and 2) retained receipts also known as revenue.  By design, one-third of all annual costs are covered by revenue in order for Land…
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What are you doing with our roads? How much does one mile of road cost to fix?

What are you doing with our roads? How much does one mile of road cost to fix?

  Q&A Roads The following questions were raised at our June 11, 2015 public listening session at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park. What are you doing with our roads? How much does one mile of road cost to fix? Funding for roads is a shared responsibility between the Forest Service, Federal Highways Administration, State of Tennessee, and Commonwealth of Kentucky. We have approximately 465 miles of Forest System Roads, which include 148 miles of paved roads, 180 miles of gravel roads and 113 miles of natural surface roads. Emergency Repairs Additionally we have received funding from the Emergency Relief…
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Forest Management Update

Forest Management Update

  Dear Friends, In a conference call on Tuesday, we met with the Forest Service Washington Office and Congressional Staffers from Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and Congressman Ed Whitefield’s offices. I shared our plans with them of how we will move forward with our Forest Management. I want to also share them here with you. We are working with our Regional and Washington Offices to modify our existing timber sales. We will be adding “buffer zones” to address visuals along Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway. We have a better understanding now of visual importance to our visitors. In…
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