Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Demonstration reactor projects, alternative fuel among projects centered around Oak Ridge, an old-school nuclear town

Leo Williams is the editor of ORNL Review. UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The full interactive article is available here.

Offer your perspective on this article and the new rise of nuclear technology in East Tennessee by contacting Hellbender Press Editor Thomas Fraser at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

OAK RIDGE — In fall 2020, California-based Kairos Power announced plans to build an advanced nuclear demonstration reactor within the site of the former K-25 uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge.

It was a good location for the company. The decommissioned K-25, now named Heritage Center Industrial Park, came with impressive infrastructure, including ample electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, abundant water from the nearby Clinch River, and more than 11 miles of rail line connected directly to the Norfolk Southern system. Interstate 40 was less than five miles away.

Perhaps more importantly, the location gave Kairos’ scientists and engineers close access to an unmatched pool of nuclear expertise. ORNL, which helped start the nuclear age more than 80 years ago and remains at the forefront of nuclear research, is all of five miles away. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which hosts a prestigious nuclear engineering department dating back to 1957, is just 30 miles down the road.

And the federally owned TVA, which has operated nuclear power plants since 1974, is developing its own next-generation nuclear reactor about three miles away.

In particular, though, the company wanted to be near a national lab, according to its co-founder Mike Laufer.

“The big decision for us was where we were going to put the Hermes reactor,” he said.

“For that, we pretty quickly narrowed down that we had a strong preference to be in close proximity to a national laboratory, with capabilities that could augment our own infrastructure.”

Hermes will be a 35-megawatt molten salt-cooled reactor that uses a new kind of uranium fuel called TRISO — short for tristructural isotropic particle fuel. The billiard ball-sized TRISO pebbles will consist of uranium, carbon and oxygen particles surrounded by carbon- and ceramic-based materials designed to prevent the release of radioactive fission products. The reactor will not produce electricity; rather, it will demonstrate the company’s technology before Kairos moves on to building much larger commercial reactors.

Architect’s rendering of the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor facility under construction in Oak Ridge. Kairos Power

The ForWarn vegetation tracking tool shows areas of red where extreme disturbance to the forest canopy occurred in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southern Virginia as a result of Hurricane Helene in late September 2024.  Jitendra Kumar/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Information will help timber gleaning, fire-hazard mitigation

Stephanie Seay is a senior science writer and communications specialist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

OAK RIDGE — A visualization tool that tracks changes to the nation’s forests in near-real time is helping resource managers pinpoint areas with the most damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast.

The ForWarn visualization tool was co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the U.S. Forest Service. The tool captures and analyzes satellite imagery to track impacts such as storms, wildfire and pests on forests across the nation. 

When staff with the Forest Service’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center in Asheville, North Carolina, were unable to work in the immediate aftermath of Helene due to utility outages, the ORNL-hosted ForWarn system continued monitoring the storm’s impact and providing reports. ForWarn indicated areas of severe disturbance to the forest canopy that were later confirmed by aerial photography. 

“ForWarn helps quickly identify areas that may need remediation such as timber harvesting or prescribed burns as piles of felled trees dry out and potentially pose wildfire hazards,” said ORNL’s Jitendra Kumar.

A range of vegetation has moved into the former Kakhovka reservoir in Ukraine. Russian occupying forces destroyed the dam along the Dnieper River in June 2023.  Photos by Serhiiy Skoryk

Russia’s bombing of Kakhovka Dam in 2023 killed hundreds of people and tens of thousands of animals, but it also provided a potential ecological reset.

This story was originally published by The Revelator.

KYIV — In the early hours of June 6, 2023, two large explosions reverberated across cities and small towns located on the banks of the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine. The Russian military had reportedly set off multiple bombs, destroying the three-kilometer-long Kakhovka Dam and draining its massive reservoir into nearby settlements.

Water from the dam flooded the plains, killing hundreds of civilians and countless livestock, destroying farms, and displacing the residents of more than 37,000 homes.

The bombing made headlines around the world. It’s the long-term impact of the attack on the local biodiversity, however, that has scientists and experts concerned. In the weeks following the explosion, researchers from Ukrainian ministries and independent organizations carried out several assessments as best they could to the backdrop of the war.

They found that the attack had flooded about 60,000 hectares (230 square miles) of forest in at least four national parks, threatening an estimated population of 20,000 animals and 10,000 birds.

Serhiiy Skoryk, a national park director, is seen with landmines that are typical of those that have literally flooded the conflict zone during the Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine. These mines and other hazards complicate efforts to gauge the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukraine’s unique natural environment. 

A red-cockaded woodpecker in flight. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last month the bird had been removed from the Endangered Species List.  Martjan Lammertink/USFS

Staccato voice of Southern woodlands removed from Endangered Species List

ATLANTA — Life is looking up for red-cockaded woodpeckers.

These perky, family-focused woodpeckers of mature Southeastern pinelands — they’re the nation’s only woodpecker that excavates cavities in living pines — had been federally listed as endangered for 50 years. Yet late last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service downlisted them to threatened.

Their recovery from an estimated 1,470 family groups in the 1970s to about 7,800 groups today from Virginia to Texas reflects decades of work by government agencies, nonprofits and private landowners.

Georgia mirrors that outlook and effort. The number of red-cockaded woodpecker family groups here “is now well north of 1,500,” said Joe Burnam, lead Department of Natural Resources biologist for the species.

The success story ranges from military lands like Fort Stewart, where controlled burns and “recruitment” clusters of artificial nest cavities inserted in trees are helping the population grow, to southwest Georgia quail properties enrolled in Safe Harbor, part of a U.S.-first habitat conservation plan that DNR developed in 1999 for the woodpeckers and private landowners.

Burnam said the downlisting keeps federal protections in place and will not affect DNR conservation practices in the state. “We’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing … managing for the birds (and) their habitat.”

Habitat loss and degradation, a combo that landed the woodpeckers on the Endangered Species Act list, remain the leading threats. For example, Hurricane Helene wiped out over 40 percent of the nest cavity trees at Moody Forest Wildlife Management Area and Natural Area near Baxley.

But new cavity inserts have already been chainsawed into pines, and others will be added, Burnam said.

In East Tennessee on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee viewed a buckled road damaged by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.  Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor via Tennessee Lookout

National health care groups warned in 2022 that the unusual Tenncare fund now being used for disaster relief would redirect dollars away from low-income enrollees

Anita Wadhwani is a senior reporter for Tennessee Lookout.

NASHVILLE ­— In the days after Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic floods across parts of East Tennessee — killing 17 and inflicting hundreds of millions of dollars in damage — Gov. Bill Lee convened a series of conference calls with his cabinet members to urge his team to “think outside the box” in how to get desperately needed capital to hard-hit rural counties.

TennCare Director Stephen Smith offered up a novel idea: tap into a special savings pool within Tennessee’s Medicaid program, which draws on a combination of state and federal funds to pay the health care bills for 1.5 million Tennesseans living in or near poverty — among them pregnant women, children, seniors and those with disabilities.

Lee, who later recounted the conversation at a news conference, went with it.

The Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) program will direct $100 million in no-interest loans from TennCare to 13 disaster-struck Tennessee counties, tapping so-called “shared savings” funds that are unique to the state’s Medicaid program.

Illustrated photo from a presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 soon after the state appropriated $15 million for use toward the now-paused airport project.  Roane County via Oak Ridge Today

City: Airport ‘paused’ because of nearby planned uranium-enrichment facility

OAK RIDGE — The city paused its long-simmering and controversial project to build a general aviation airport in the western part of Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge government announced it paused the plan to build the airport in part of East Tennessee Technology Park because another nearby project is going forward: Orano USA’s Project Ike. Orano announced its plans for that project, a large uranium enrichment facility, Wednesday, Sept. 4; the city of Oak Ridge announced its pause the following week, Wednesday Sept. 11.

The city stated it wanted to “re-evaluate the proposed location” for the airport due to the Orano plan. City communications specialist Lauren Gray declined to name any other locations the city might be considering, saying plans weren’t that definite yet.

(Hellbender Press won a first-place award from the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for its previous coverage of the proposed Oak Ridge airport).

NCEI’s Physical Archive in Asheville, N.C. contains historical environmental data on paper and film. The Physical Archive remains safe and secure following Hurricane Helene and catastrophic flooding in the Southern Appalachians.  NOAA

Staff and data holdings safe; webpages, products and services in the process of coming back online

John Bateman is a public affairs officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

ASHEVILLE — NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), headquartered in Asheville, is recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. NCEI has confirmed that all of its employees and staff are safe, and is continuing to support them through the storm recovery. NCEI data holdings — including its paper and film records — are safe. 

NCEI’s broadband internet provider is now fully operational. In addition to the recently reestablished connectivity, NCEI is leveraging facilities and staff in Colorado, Mississippi and Maryland to bring some system and data “ingest” capabilities back into operation. NCEI has resumed the majority of its data ingest streams and can confirm that data are being securely archived. We expect all ingest data pathways to be fully operational in the next two weeks.

NCEI continues to work with data providers to recoup data that were not ingested while systems were down. This work will take up to three months to be completed. NCEI will recover as much data as possible, however, some observations might eventually be unrecoverable. 

That’s not the natural ‘smoke’ of the Smokies. The Flint Gap fire has burned about 50 acres south of Abrams Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  National Park Service

Firefighters stage in Abrams Creek Campground in national park as more resources arrive

Katie Liming is a public affairs officer with Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

GATLINBURG — The Flint Gap Fire is 46 acres as of the last estimate. Although the fire is presently uncontained, only a few areas are actively burning within the perimeter. Once firefighter access and safety in this remote and steep terrain is addressed, a full suppression strategy will be executed.

The fire did not receive as much rain over the weekend as previously predicted; however, a local weather station did show that 0.34 inches fell on the fire early Sept. 17.

On Monday, the fire responded to decreasing relative humidities, 10 mph winds and afternoon direct sunlight with some increased activity and additional smoke. The fire is currently backing through fingers of available fuels with flame lengths of 1-3 feet in some areas. Fire activity is primarily in areas with pockets of pine litter and near drainages. 

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, 5:30 p.m. at Barrelhouse by Gypsy Circus (621 Lamar Street). RSVP on Facebook

Green Drinks Knoxville will host an in-depth discussion with Dave Maasberg on how he maintains his food forest including some rare heirloom apple varieties, figs, pears, blackberries and more. He will bring samples to try and fruits for purchase to savor at home.

Raised around agriculture and the vanishing small-scale, midwestern family farm, Dave has always held a special place for fruit trees and perennial plants. After a Foraging and Wild Edible Plants class at Indiana University, his desire to create a food forest and sustainable homestead quickly turned into a reality. After over 20 years of planting and maintaining various fruiting plants on a reclaimed hillside, he is excited to share his journey with us. He currently helps others with plantings, from small scale to larger projects.

Green Drinks Knoxville is a social and professional organization that convenes open-minded folks to encourage education and conversation about the environment, green technologies, sustainable lifestyles and more.

Our events are free and open to the public. We welcome all and support racial diversity, gender equality, and LGBTQ inclusivity.

Fontana Resort, once the site of a Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps camp and now home to a comfortable, low-key lodging destination, has numerous relics and mementos from nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Included among them is this collection of badges indicating landmarks and completion of popular trails throughout the park. Visitors to areas close to the Smokies, such as Fontana Village, bring in an estimated $3 billion each year.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

Cash-rich tourists flock to Smokies area; whether they set foot in the national park is a different story

Katie Liming is a public information officer at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

GATLINBURG — A new National Park Service report shows that 13.3 million visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2023 spent $2.2 billion in communities near the park. That spending supported 33,748 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $3.4 billion. (In 2020, albeit a year of peak COVID-19, that amount was $2 billion).

“People come to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to enjoy the scenic beauty and end up supporting local economies along the way,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “We’re proud to care for a national park that provides incredible opportunities for recreation but also creates jobs and positively contributes to local economies.” 

The long maturation time of American ginseng makes it susceptible to overharvesting. A ban on collecting the plant in Nantahala and Pisgah national forests remains in place.  Illstration: Ohio State Extension Service

Wild populations of the plant remain too low to sustainably harvest

Adam Rondeau is a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Forest Service.

ASHEVILLE — The Forest Service pause on issuing permits to harvest American ginseng in the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests will remain in place for the 2024 season.

Efforts to restore ginseng populations on both national forests continue. However, wild populations of the plant currently remain too low to sustainably harvest for the foreseeable future. The plant is known as both a folk and medical remedy and preventative for myriad ailments.

“We stopped issuing permits for ginseng harvesting in 2021, when the data began to show a trend toward lower and lower populations each year,” said Gary Kauffman, botanist for the National Forests in North Carolina. “We’re seeing that trend reversing slightly, but ginseng plants take a long time to mature before they reach the peak age to start bearing seeds.”

Native to Western North Carolina forests, wild ginseng is a perennial plant that can live for 60-80 years. It can take up to 10 years before a ginseng plant will start producing the most seeds; however, overharvesting in the past has made older plants increasing rare.

This event was rescheduled from a previous date.

MORRISTOWN — The regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is hosting a free open house featuring tours, scientific discussions and chats with area forecasters intimate with the intricacies of Southern Appalachian weather.

Stop by the regional office, 5974 Commerce Blvd. in Morristown, any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 to learn about the National Weather Service as a whole, tour operations and learn what a typical work day looks like at the weather-service office.

Highlights include chances to meet meteorologists and weather-service partner agencies; explanations of when and how severe weather alerts are issued; an introduction to weather radar and radio; hydrology discussions; and hands-on science activities for children.

The state of Tennessee will partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority to carry out a federal home energy efficiency rebate program that was included in the federal Inflation Reduction Act.  Getty Images via Tennessee Lookout

What might Tennessee’s energy-efficiency rebate plan look like, and when?

This article was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

NASHVILLE — More than $8 billion flagged for home energy rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act is beginning to trickle out of federal coffers, but Tennessee residents will likely have to wait until the spring of 2025 to start applying for their chunk of change.

Each state must shape its own plan to dole out the funding, which can put money residents spend on energy efficiency upgrades back into the households’ pockets if they meet certain requirements. New York and Wisconsin became the first states to begin offering federally funded home energy rebates to their residents in mid-August, two years after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and its many energy-focused subsidies into law.

In total, the rebate funds are expected to impact between 1 to 2 percent of households across the nation.

Tennessee submitted its application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the more than $167 million earmarked for the state in mid-August. Tennessee’s 2025 rollout timeline largely depends on how quickly the DOE approves the state’s applications and when Tennessee can execute a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority — its chosen implementer — to put the program into action. 

Nanette Mahler, left, and Tracy O’Neill walk along Macon Wall Road in Cheatham County, Tennessee, near the site of a proposed Tennessee Valley Authority gas power plant project. Local backlash against the proposal comes as the federal utility faces bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to boost transparency in its planning process and scrutiny of TVA’s anemic renewable power growth compared to other utilities. Robert Zullo/States Newsroom

TVA ‘clearly a laggard’ in renewable energy

This article was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

ASHLAND CITY — When he heard about the sale, Kerry McCarver was perplexed.

In 2020, the mayor of rural Cheatham County discovered that the Tennessee Valley Authority bought about 280 acres of rolling farmland “in the middle of nowhere” in his county, which lies just west of Nashville and is home to about 42,000 people.

He asked another county official who formerly worked for the TVA, the nation’s largest public power company, to find out what it planned to do with the land.

The answer they got was “future use,” and they speculated a solar farm might be in the works.

“It’s kind of the last we thought about it,” McCarver said during an interview in his office in May. “Then a year ago last summer, TVA called here needing a place to have a public meeting.”

The authority was now proposing a 900-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, battery storage, pipelines and other associated infrastructure for the site, which came as a shock to McCarver and many other locals who felt it was wholly inappropriate for the area. 

This event was rescheduled from its original date.

KODAK — Take a break from football, grab the kayaks, get outside and join your friends and family for Sturgeonfest 2024 on the French Broad River!

The FREE celebration of the ancient fish, their lore and their future is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 2 at Seven Islands State Birding Park boat ramp.

• Release a baby sturgeon into the French Broad River!

• Enjoy food from Kennedy Grill Food Truck, Crave Food Truck, Giddy Up Coffee Truck, Central Creamery, and the King of Pops!

• Enjoy music by the Tennessee Stifflegs!

To put a fish in the water, reserve a FREE ticket for everyone in your party for a specific time slot. 

Invasive carp jumping from the water at Barkley Dam in Kentucky. One option for eliminating carp is to eat them, and you can do just that on Saturday in Knoxville.  Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Learn about invasive species such as carp and zebra mussels at Conservation Fisheries panel

KNOXVILLE —To hear Bo Baxter tell it, carp actually doesn’t taste half bad.

He fairly gorged on the bottom feeders once long ago, during a long Mississippi River trip with the famed aquatic biologist David Etnier.

He prefers silver carp to, say, bighead carp, but the meat is fairly light and flaky on both and “I consider it excellent,” Baxter said. (Baxter serves on the editorial board of Hellbender Press).

Regardless their culinary appeal, the fish don’t belong anywhere near here, and will be among several different invasive species set to be the subject of a forum beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 at Remedy Coffee, 800 Tyson St., Knoxville.

And while you learn, you can enjoy a $5 carp po’boy and hushpuppies plate courtesy of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), which is working to both limit the spread and establish a robust commercial market for the fish. Payson will provide the bread and remoulade.

MARYVILLE — Come hang out on Little River with friends and family and learn about river life with the scientists and staff of Conservation Fisheries Inc. and Little River Watershed Association. 

The educational fun kicks off at noon July 27 with the start of shuttled floats down Little River ending back at River Johns, 4134 Cave Mill Road. (Bring your own personal flotation device).

Guided snorkeling (masks and snorkels provided) in the river at River Johns begins at 3 p.m. The day wraps up with food from Tarik’s North African, or you can bring your own picnic.

A ginseng digger works a hollow somewhere in the Appalachians. Traditional ‘sangers’ generally follow centuries-old protocols for sustainable harvest of the plant and pose much less of a threat to ginseng than habitat destruction and extractive industry.  Photos from American Folklife Collection/Library of Congress

Wild ginseng is declining, but small-scale ‘diggers’ aren’t the main threat to this native plant — and they can help save it

This article was originally published by The Conversation. Justine Law is an associate professor of Ecology and Environmental Studies at Sonoma State University.

KNOXVILLE — Across Appalachia, September marks the start of ginseng season, when thousands of people roam the hills searching for hard-to-reach patches of this highly prized plant.

Many people know ginseng as an ingredient in vitamin supplements or herbal tea. That ginseng is grown commercially on farms in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. In contrast, wild American ginseng is an understory plant that can live for decades in the forests of the Appalachians. The plant’s taproot grows throughout its life and sells for hundreds of dollars per pound, primarily to East Asian customers who consume it for health reasons.

Because it’s such a valuable medicinal plant, harvesting ginseng has helped families in mountainous regions of states such as Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Ohio weather economic ups and downs since the late 1700s.

The IRA’s clean-energy progress is clearest in our communities

Stephen Smith is executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. He was a founder of the Foundation for Global Sustainability (FGS) and serves on the FGS board of directors. Hellbender Press is published by FGS.

KNOXVILLE — The largest climate investment legislation in U.S. history, the Inflation Reduction Act, celebrated its two-year anniversary in August: two years of reducing harmful pollution, of creating thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs, of welcoming billions of dollars in clean energy investments to the Southeast. The ways the IRA has and will continue to benefit our region and beyond are innumerable — and the numbers don’t lie. 

The IRA’s progress is clearest here in our communities: between Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, 559,820 households received more than $1.3 billion in residential clean energy and energy-efficiency tax credits in tax year 2023. Real people are saving money and benefiting from the historic climate law every day — take it from seven SACE members, their IRA stories and the encouraging statistics mentioned here. 

The reach of the IRA stretches beyond our homes — over 70,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations now dot the U.S., and federal tax credits on both new and used EVs have saved consumers over $1 billion so far this year alone. Last month, SACE released its updated 2024 Electrify the South Electric Transportation Toolkit to help guide decision-makers through this time of enormous opportunity.

A protestor holds a sign during a 2021 demonstration against TVA’s plans for continued fossil fuel use outside the federal utility’s headquarters in Knoxville.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

KNOXVILLE — On Thursday, August 22, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Board of Directors will meet in Florence, Alabama to authorize a 5.25 percent electric power rate increase without any public documentation showing why the increase is needed or how those additional revenues will be spent. This rate increase amounts to approximately a staggering half-a-billion-dollar increase for Tennessee Valley ratepayers. Only in the Tennessee Valley could a major utility raise rates without public scrutiny of financial documents.

The 5.25 percent rate increase coupled with last year’s 4.5 percent electric rate increase is strategically set just below a 10 percent threshold that would trigger renegotiation of hundreds of power supply agreements with local utilities. But even with this rate increase, TVA is still racking up debt at a rate not seen in decades.

Based on documents over a year old at this point, we can only guess what is driving TVA’s current financial woes: the largest buildout of fossil gas in the country this decade. These new fossil gas pipelines and power plants aren’t cheap, and TVA’s plan to increase reliance on gas is risky. Families and businesses across the Valley will see increased bills when gas prices rise again and as these new gas power plants become obsolete in just a few short years. 

Wild hogs root in a sensitive area in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.  National Park Service

Tennessee side of Big South Fork best for hunting invasive hogs

Daniel Banks is a public information officer at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

ONEIDA — Deer hunting season opened in Kentucky on Sept. 7 and opens in Tennessee on Sept. 28. During these big game seasons, wild hogs may be harvested by licensed hunters with the appropriate weapon that is legal for that specific season.

There is also an extended hog hunting season that lasts from the end of the deer season until the end of February with a weapon that is approved by that state for harvesting big game.

The wild hog is an invasive exotic species that has a significant negative impact on native species and do a great deal of damage to farmlands and residential areas. The damage they cause threatens park resources, including federally listed plants. (Their rooting also damages salamander and other amphibian habitat).

(Check out this video of natural pest control: A bear eating a hog in Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

Tennessee trillium is among the beneficiaries of a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the land conservancy TennGreen that protected the rare flower’s limited habitat in Hamblen County, Tenn.  Photo illustration courtesy of TennGreen

60-acre Union Grove acquisition marks first protection of imperiled Tennessee trillium, unknown to scientists until only 2013

MORRISTOWN — In May 2023, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) alerted TennGreen Land Conservancy that a 60-acre swath of land nestled in the forests of Hamblen County known as Union Grove was for sale in East Tennessee. Most interestingly: The property contains some of the only known populations of a native trillium that were described for the first time only 20 years ago.

Union Grove’s owner first alerted University of Tennessee botanists and researchers to the unusual trillium in hopes of safeguarding both the wildflowers and the forests they live within. The botanists realized the trillium was nothing they nor other botanists had encountered and described it as “new to science” in 2013. To date, the Tennessee trillium (Trillium tennesseense) has only been found in the Bays Mountain formation areas in Hamblen and Hawkins counties.

Until this successful collaboration, Trillium tennesseense existed only in private, unprotected areas such as the project landowner’s property. The landowner was moving out of Tennessee, and wished to sell their property to an organization that would value it and seek to protect its incredible habitat. TennGreen Land Conservancy stepped in to quickly acquire the property.

TennGreen then transferred the property to TDEC in June 2024. 

Tennessee Aquarium VP and Chief Conservation and Education Officer Dr. Anna George, right, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Delivery Coordinator Geoff Call collect critically endangered laurel dace from a stream ravaged by a prolonged drought on the Cumberland Plateau. The rescue successfully relocated 105 adults into human care at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute’s headquarters near downtown Chattanooga.  Photos by Doug Strickland/Tennessee Aquarium

Drought prompts emergency rescue of one of America’s most endangered aquatic species

Casey Phillips is a writer for the Tennessee Aquarium.

CHATTANOOGA — Few things trigger louder or more distressing alarm bells among freshwater biologists than watching a waterway dry up during a severe, prolonged drought. That’s especially true when the disappearing stream is home to one of America’s most imperiled fish.

In late July, reports of dramatically withered streams atop Walden Ridge north of Chattanooga spurred an emergency rescue operation to prevent the extinction of the federally endangered laurel dace, which scientists consider to be among the 10 most at-risk fish in North America.

This effort was carried out by representatives from the Tennessee Aquarium, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Georgia’s River Basin Center in coordination with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. In all, 105 adult laurel dace were removed from dangerously dry streams and successfully relocated to the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) near downtown Chattanooga.

All but one of the collected fish survived the relocation and are now thriving in temporary human care, where they will remain until conditions in their few native streams are sufficiently improved for them to be returned safely.

This laurel dace (Chrosomus saylori) was among dozens other collected from a stream on Walden Ridge north of Chattanooga to save the fish from drought. In the last 12 years, this minnow’s range has drastically dwindled to just two streams, and scientists consider it one of North America’s 10 most imperiled fish species.

This event was postponed on a previous date. 

GATLINBURG — Partner with Discover Life in America to find and collect mushrooms and fungi specimens for identification and DNA sequencing and learn more about the diversity of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Register here for the event, set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Oct. 16 at Twin Creeks, 1316 Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg.

The fungi roundup is in conjunction with the Summer 2024 Continental Mycoblitz, a continentwide fungi data-collection project. 

Expect a 1-2 mile easy to moderate hike. Email Jaimie Matzko, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., for more information.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s 2024-25 statewide gun hunting season for deer opens Saturday, Nov. 23. The season traditionally opens each year on the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. During gun season, sportsmen may also use muzzleloaders or archery equipment. 

The statewide bag limit for antlered bucks is two. No more than one antlered deer may be taken per day, not to exceed two for the season. In Units 1, 2 and 3 there is an antlerless bag limit of three per day, and a limit of two antlerless for this season in Units 4, 5 and 6. The bag limit may only be exceeded as part of the Earn-A-Buck program or as replacement buck in a CWD positive county.

During season setting, new hunting units were implemented for this season. Hunters should refer to the 2024-25 Tennessee Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Guide for specific information about their hunting unit and complete license requirements.

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1969, is required to carry proof of satisfactory completion of a hunter education class or be in possession of the Apprentice Hunter Education Permit (along with other required licenses) while hunting any species in Tennessee. Hunter education can be completed online for free along with in person options offered by TWRA. 

The statewide deer hunting season will continue through Jan. 5, 2025. The second Young Sportsman Hunt is Jan. 11-12.