What is LBL? LBL is a National Recreation area that provides a unique setting for a wide range of recreation opportunities and environmental education experiences. The area includes 170,000 acres of forests, wetlands, and open lands on a peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake in Western Kentucky and Tennessee. Visitors to LBL will find more than 1,500 developed campsites, 1000’s of acres of undeveloped areas for primitive camping and exploring, special use areas specifically for equestrian sports and off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding, biking, hiking, and nature viewing along more than 260 miles of non-motorized trails. LBL also provides an extensive array of environmental education facilities and programs. The environmental education effort at LBL offers approximately 1,200 interpretive programs to the general public and 900 formal education programs a year.

When you say Land Between the Lakes (LBL) my mind instantly thinks about all the great memories my family has made there. From our camping trips to fishing trips, seeing the look on my son’s face the first time he saw a bison, we have made so many amazing memories here. We have made several trips to the Woodland Nature Station were and I quote “You can gaze into the eyes of a great horned owl, howl with a coyote, or watch for the elusive red wolf in the Backyard Exhibit Area.” My son thinks it’s one of the coolest place’s to visit. My family like so many others spend just about every weekend in LBL enjoying the great outdoors and all the things that it has to offer.

LBL also plays a vital role in so many lives here in Kentucky and Tennessee, so many small local owned businesses need the tourism generated by LBL to keep their doors open. County Judge Executive Wade White is quoted saying “Surrounding counties and beyond in west Kentucky will feel the ripple effect of lack of tourism and a hard hit to the economy from the budget cut.”

The U.S. Forestry Service is not just making minor budget cuts. They are cutting all funding to the recreation and heritage budget. A zero-dollar budget means the U.S. Forest Service could cut places, like: Welcome Stations, Energy Lake Campground, picnic areas, firearm shooting areas, the Homeplace, Brandon Springs, Woodlands Nature Station, as well as no maintenance of the trails. If this budget cut goes through it will be devastating to tourism for the whole area.

The reason for the cut backs are unclear. Judge Executive Wade White met with the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday April 20, 2021. He said “I don’t think the pandemic has anything to do with it, the numbers were really good last March, and on all the way through the summer, there was no real explanation as to why they’re cutting the recreation and heritage budget to zero dollars for 2022”.

National Forest System is supposed “to protect and manage the resources of the Recreation Area for optimum yield of outdoor recreation, to help stimulate the development of the surrounding region; and to extend the beneficial results as widely as possible." How could they possibly be doing that if they are completely defunding some of the most important areas in LBL. Please help us put a stop to this before it’s too late.