History
The parkland was given to Louisville by the U.S. Government in 1947, in recognition of the city's service during World War II. A master plan for the park, calling for the removal of outdated facilities and the development of new amenities, was adopted in 2001.
On December 1, 2008, Louisville Metro announced that the park, which loses $500,000 annually, would close to the public on December 14, 2008 due to budget cuts. This closing date was quickly amended to January 1. According to Louisville Metro Parks, events booked at the Conference Center would be honored through June 2009, but none after. A day later, the state's Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources proposed taking over the park to operate it as a wildlife-management area, which would involve lifting a ban on hunting and fishing.
On June 16, 2010, Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson announced that Otter Creek Park would reopen in 2011 as an outdoor recreational area operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. Otter Creek officially reopened on May 11, 2011, but several facilities in need of repair and renovation, notably the Nature Center and Conference Center, remain closed. Overnight cabins are no longer available; primitive and RV camping will be available once an outside vendor is located.
Read more about this topic: Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area
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—D.H. (David Herbert)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)