Kentucky lieutenant governor wants to link ATV trails in Eastern Kentucky with those in W. Ky.

Coal-mining counties in Central Appalachia are capitalizing on the region's rough terrain as a tourist attraction for owners of four-wheel-drive and all-terrain vehicles. Now Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo is promoting a statewide adventure trail that would connect local trails from the eastern part of the state with the western part.

“We will have something that no one else on earth has. It will transform our economy and especially transfer the economy of rural Kentucky because that is our strength,” Mongiardo told state and local leaders this week in Harlan County, reports John Middleton of The Harlan Daily Enterprise.(Read more)

Mongiardo is a physician from adjoining Perry County and once represented Harlan in the state Senate. For earlier coverage of the adventure trail on The Rural Blog, click here and here.