I grew up riding up in the East Texas piney woods around the areas you guys speak of and the deal is...the locals don't want a bunch of yahoos from Austin, San Antonio, Houston, etc. up there. Period. They dont care about the tax base, the revenues, more restaurants, hotels, the added traffic...I could go on and on. They want those woods to themselves. That's why we rarely go back. We are outsiders and they are quick to show you the highway. "You ain't from around here, are ya boy?"
There are lots of inholdings...private properties surrounded by the Nat. Forest.
This is just my observations and two cents over the past 30+ years...and it pisses me off too.