Graham County is toying around with various ideas for specialty parks to boost tourism. A suggestion to create a park for off-road vehicles drew an angry crowd who complained that the access road is privately maintained. They knew nobody cared, so they added that the off-road motor vehicles would silt the watershed. They seriously doubted the park would help with county revenues, to boot. They told about the Tellico off-road trails that collected $3 million in tourist dollars but ran up a $4 million tab in damages to be repaired by the US Forest Service.
Other attempts to draw tax revenue from tourists include “a museum devoted to logging, pioneer living and Native Americans;” and a ski resort. The University of Tennessee is currently conducting a feasibility study for the latter.
