Twice in the past 25 years, Congress has adopted legislation that dealt with the management and oversight of Land Between the Lakes.
LBL Protection Act of 1998
The LBL Protection Act of 1998 — spearheaded by Ed Whitfield, the Republican congressman who represented Kentucky’s First Congressional District from 1996 to 2016 — transferred LBL to the U.S. Forest Service. The shift from TVA, which had managed LBL since its creation in the 1960s, was prompted by concerns that the national recreation area was not being preserved as promised in its original design.
I covered that story for the Kentucky New Era. During a Congressional subcommittee hearing on June 21, 1997, at Murray State University, I heard former residents of the region — whose families were forced to sell their land to the federal government — testify about their desire to make the government keep its promises so that LBL would never be developed with resort-style accommodations.
LBL Recreation and Heritage Act
Then, last year, U.S. Rep. James Comer, who now represents the First Congressional District, and U.S. Mitch McConnell co-sponsored the LBL Recreation and Heritage Act. It grew out of concerns about the U.S. Forest Service’s management of LBL.
The legislation, adopted as part of an omnibus spending bill that President Joe Biden signed in December, includes at least $8 million in guaranteed annual funding for LBL. It specifies that funds collected from charges and user fees at LBL will stay at the recreation area to perform new work or deferred maintenance.
It also seeks to bolster local influence over LBL through a revised advisory board that includes positions for several Kentuckians and encourages the Forest Service to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with state and local entities to clarify jurisdictional issues like policing and increase transparency.
Among those who back the LBL Recreation and Heritage Act is former resident David Nickell, a philosophy and sociology professor at West Kentucky Community and Technical College who also farms. Nickell has been advocating most of his life for former residents of the region who want to preserve the natural resources and history of the 171,280-acre peninsula stretching from Western Kentucky into Northwestern Tennessee.
Advisory board nominations
If you or someone you know ought to be considered for the board, here’s more information about the panel.
Nominations must be postmarked by Sept. 22. They may be emailed to Christine Bombard at christine.bombard@usda.gov or mailed to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Attention: Christine Bombard, 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, Kentucky 42211. Nominations must contain a completed application packet that includes the nominee’s name, resume, and completed Form AD–755.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
