By Howard Ball
Part of the Red River Gorge (the “Gorge”), one of Kentucky’s environmental treasures, might undergo significant commercial development in the next decade.[i] The state Chamber of Commerce is in the early stages of bringing a “destination tourist attraction” to the Gorge area near Slade, Kentucky.[ii] Envisioned is a new “gateway” to the economically-depressed eastern part of the commonwealth—an almost 900-acre site boasting a variety of commercial offerings.[iii] According to Chamber President Dave Adkisson, plans are still “speculative,” and scrapping the project altogether remains a possibility.[iv] Nonetheless, several interested business and environmental groups have already expressed concerns that the project could materialize at the expense of the Gorge’s rich natural resources and without local input.[v]
Red River Economic Development, LLC (“Red River”), a nonprofit subsidiary of the Chamber of Commerce, is spearheading the project.[vi] Last October, the company released a four-page concept paper; planned for the resort are meeting and event spaces, lodging, a themed village, access to hiking trails, and more.[vii] The resort will serve as an “anchor attraction,” using ecotourism to catalyze economic development in an area of the state that desperately needs it.[viii]
Despite the project’s potential to alleviate eastern Kentucky’s lagging economy, however, the presumed environmental impacts have given some reservations.[ix] At a recent public meeting Red River held to update locals, one individual opined that “[e]veryone wants to see an area grow right? But you want to see it grow in a responsible way.”[x] Red River’s alleged lack of transparency has only amplified such concerns.[xi] Perhaps notably, the Concept Paper is mostly devoid of any substantial environmental considerations.[xii]
All parties to this debate must remember just how far off the Gorge area is from experiencing any changes related to Red River’s development. The company has not even settled on a firm to draft the masterplan,[xiii] and, construction could begin at the very earliest in 2022.[xiv] There is time for interested groups and individuals to air their concerns and provide input to the project—feedback that Red River principals claim to want.[xv] It would be a shame for a few outspoken critics to preempt this project before it is even underway. Indeed, eastern Kentucky can hardly afford to forgo such a substantial investment opportunity.
The area’s economic decline makes it imperative that careful consideration goes into the Red River project. The Appalachian Regional Commission estimates that nearly 40 counties in Eastern Kentucky are “economically distressed.”[xvi] Poverty rates have increased in 22 of those counties, and the average per capita income of Appalachian Kentuckians is less than $20,000.[xvii] The potential economic boost added by Red River’s plans—already more than five years in the making[xviii]—simply cannot be ignored. It is unknowable when (if ever) commercial interests of this magnitude will align again in the Gorge area.
Prudence suggests that all parties continue to gather information to make an informed decision about the destination resort. Locals are understandably concerned about their beautiful and historic environment. Likewise, public servants and business leaders are concerned about an area of the state that, economically speaking, has next-to-nothing going for it. There will inevitably be compromises—such as the nature of 900-acre commercial developments. But compromise need not be a death struggle; if folks keep an open mind,[xix] and Red River proceeds in good faith, much good can be accomplished.
[i] Ben Tobin, A 900-Acre Destination Resort in the Red River Gorge Area? A Concept is in the Works, Louisville Courier Journal (Oct. 18, 2019), https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/10/18/red-river-gorge-kentucky-could-have-destination-resort/4021505002/.
[ii] Red River Economic Development, LLC, Eastern Kentucky Destination Resort Concept Paper (Oct. 30, 2018).
[iii] Id.
[iv] Linda Blackford, A 900-Acre ‘Destination Resort’ at Red River Gorge? Officials Should Move Very Slowly, Lexington Herald Leader (Oct. 16, 2019), https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/linda-blackford/article236318058.html.
[v] Id.
[vi] About Red River Economic Development, LLC, http://www.redriverky.com/about/#page-content (last visited Oct. 24, 2019).
[vii] Red River Economic Development, LLC, supra note ii.
[viii] Id. (noting that two out of every three “coal jobs” disappeared in the past six years).
[ix] Blackford, supra note iv.
[x] Katherine Collins, Locals React to Proposal for Big Resort in Red River Gorge, LEX18 (Oct. 17, 2019), https://www.lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/locals-react-to-proposal-for-big-resort-in-red-river-gorge.
[xi] Blackford, supra note iv.
[xii] Red River Economic Development, LLC, supra note ii (There are only vague references to “an appropriate, environmentally sensitive development [that] can demonstrate ecologically sustainable practices,” and proceeding “in an environmentally responsible way.”).
[xiii] Blackford, supra note iv.
[xiv] Tobin, supra note i.
[xv] Id.; Blackford, supra note iv.
[xvi] Will Wright, Income Falls in Several Appalachian Kentucky Counties as Coal Fails to Bounce Back, Lexington Herald Leader (June 25, 2019), https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article231937238.html.
[xvii] Id.
[xviii] Red River Economic Development, LLC, supra note ii.
[xix] EKI Staff, Kentucky Conservation Committee Notes from Public Meeting on the Proposed Red River Gorge Development, Explore Kentucky Initiative (Oct. 18, 2019), https://www.explorekentucky.us/fieldjournal/redrivergorgedestinationresortnotes.