Land Management, Recreation, and Funding

Land Management, Recreation, and Funding

Has the budget for campgrounds, and facilities such as Nature Station and Homeplace been effected by costs of land management such as logging? Has spending on these areas increased or decreased over the past 10 years?  Summary The budget for campgrounds and facilities stands independent of the budget for vegetation management, such as timber sale preparation and administration. As a result of that, recreation and facilities funding have not been affected. As with all National Forest’s budget in recreation and facilities, over the past 10 years there has been an overall decline in appropriations. For the Land Between The Lakes,…
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How Land Management Affects Outdoor Recreation

How Land Management Affects Outdoor Recreation

How are proposed land management practices including logging, expected or anticipated to affect Land Between The Lakes' core mission of environmental education and recreation? Positives and negatives? Summary Timber management activities create opportunities for wildlife viewing. The timber sale activities help with road maintenance, thus allowing for dispersed recreation opportunities such as hunting.  With improved wildlife habitat conditions, the opportunity to utilize environmental education into the role of land management is increased. Restricting or eliminating the use of timber sales as a tool for land management could be perceived as having positive impact on visuals and noise. Why Land Management?…
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Reports from the oak-grasslands research

Reports from the oak-grasslands research

The data from those monitoring sites. What reports or publications have resulted from these data? Your assessment of progress on this project. When will native grasses be established? If native grasses are not established, what will you do? You’ll find a listing of reports and publications at the end of  the answer to this question for more information. Work to reestablish native warm season grasses is an on-going process. In order to achieve the desired results, additional management activities such as prescribed burning will take place.  All activities will be monitored for success. Monitoring data Dr. Patrick Keyser an Associate…
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How many acres of grasslands, barrens, savannas, and woodlands?

How many acres of grasslands, barrens, savannas, and woodlands?

Over time, how many acres of LBL will be converted to the Pre-European landscape plan of grasslands, barrens, savannas and woodlands? Our Land and Resource Management Plan reserves 8,630 acres for oak-grasslands demonstration areas.  The 2004 Land and Resource Management Plan for Land Between The Lakes refers to the Pre-European landscape specifically for the Oak Grasslands Restoration Demonstration Areas, the Elk &Bison Praire-700 acres, and the south Bison Range-180 acres. Land Between The Lakes is divided into multiple land uses, including administrative areas, recreation and environmental areas, and natural resource areas.  These acres are designated to be managed for a…
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Cost for managing an oak-grassland habitat

Cost for managing an oak-grassland habitat

What is the anticipated costs and what is currently budgeted for maintenance of the existing '8600' acres of savanna/grass lands? Accounting data for the costs of this project (8,600)? We project out our costs for programs such as timber and fire then submit a request for funding annually. This is done as one budget item. We do not break it down into such detail. As land managers we take into account our areas that need treatments and plan for those areas several years in advance. You can find more information about where we spend our funds in one of our…
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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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How will you attempt to improve communication of land management goals and practices in the future, how do you sell it to the public?

How will you attempt to improve communication of land management goals and practices in the future, how do you sell it to the public?

How will you attempt to improve communication of land management goals and practices in the future, how do you sell it to the public? Answer: Land Between The Lakes is working with the Advisory Board to develop a collaborative process that engages members in learning about and advising the Area Supervisor on land management goals and practices. We will also work together to develop ways to effectively communicate with and inform the public. At our September meeting, we shared with board members about what is in the Plan and answered questions on what type of management could take place in…
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What will be the Advisory Boards role in relation to changes in land management and its effects on recreation and environmental education?

What will be the Advisory Boards role in relation to changes in land management and its effects on recreation and environmental education?

What will be the Advisory Boards role in relation to changes in land management and its effects on recreation and environmental education? Answer: The Advisory Board will be more engaged on advising the Forest Service about the concerns of those individuals that they represent on land management planning. They can inform the Forest Service on who may need to be brought into a discussion concerning proposed management activities and how to better outreach to individuals and groups. Members of the Board can also be a good source for sharing information. The Forest Service is working hard to shift to plain…
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Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas

Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas

We received several questions about Land Between The Lakes Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas as described in our brochure. Editors Note: The 2007 Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas brochure referenced in these questions can be found here. 1) What recreational opportunities are created by Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas? Providing for recreation opportunities plays a role in all that we do here at Land Between The Lakes. Overall, our recreation opportunities have improved by restoring a native ecosystem to support a diverse wildlife that depends on open under-story forests with shrubs, wildflowers, and grass components. The dominant tree species of oak/hickory also provides…
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