The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is seeking individuals interested in serving on the Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board.
The 13-member panel advises the Secretary of Agriculture on LBL issues concerning “environmental education” and “means of promoting public participation for the land and resource management plan for the area,” states a letter from LBL officials.
The LBL National Recreation Area spans approximately 170,000 acres stretching from Western Kentucky to northwestern Tennessee between Lake Barkley and the Cumberland River to east and Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River to the west. Management of LBL was transferred from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Forest Service in 1998 through federal legislation that mandated the LBL Advisory Board.
The advisory board was revised through the LBL Recreation and Heritage Act — co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. James Comer — which was adopted as part of the omnibus spending bill that President Biden signed in December.
The Recreation and Heritage Act includes changes intended to bolster influence among residents of Tennessee and Kentucky who reside near LBL by appointing them to the advisory board. The legislation also guarantees annual federal funding for LBL to address concerns about the level of financial support the Forest Service provides.
The 13-member panel will include:
- Two appointed by the Kentucky Secretary of State
- Two appointed by the Tennessee Secretary of State
- Two appointed by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner
- One appointed by the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commissioner
- Two appointed by officials in each of the three counties containing a portion of LBL — Trigg and Lyon in Kentucky and Stewart in Tennessee
Anyone interested in serving on the board should contact Christine Bombard at christine.bombard@usda.gov.
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.
