By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Four lakes operated by the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers' St. Louis district will see cuts in services.
That includes Mark Twain Lake in Missouri and Shelbyville, Carlyle and Rend Lakes in Illinois.
Corps spokesman Alan Dooley says the service reductions come after years of flat or declining federal funding and rising costs.
"Wages have gone up a small amount, but it's an additive amount each year. The costs of services that we contract for have done the same thing," Dooley said. "And the cost of some of the materials and supplies that we purchase have really gone up a great deal; utilities and fuel, things like that, have doubled and tripled."
Dooley says the Corps is trying to make changes that will impact visitors the least.
Visitors Centers will be open only on weekends and mowing will be done less frequently.
Also, some campgrounds will close earlier in the season. Rend Lake will suffer the greatest impact. About a fifth of the recreation sites there will be closed all season.