Great Smoky Mountains National Park (84)
Audubon Christmas bird tally hits 125 years and counting
Written by Holly Kays
Citizen-led Audubon Christmas Bird Count tallies our feathered friends for yet another year
Holly Kays is the lead writer for Smokies Life.
GATLINBURG — Since its origin in 1900, the Christmas Bird Count has become a holiday fixture for ever-expanding numbers of birders across the globe, giving a valuable gift to generations of wildlife scientists — a massive trove of data on bird populations in the Western Hemisphere.
This annual avian census, set to commence for the 125th time, began in an era when many bird species were facing steep declines, especially waterfowl prized for their feathers. The Christmas Bird Count was the National Audubon Society’s answer to the traditional Christmas Side Hunt, a team competition that encouraged participants to kill as many furred and feathered creatures as possible in a single outing.
“The Christmas Bird Count really got started as an alternative to those kinds of hunting efforts,” said Curtis Smalling, executive director of Audubon North Carolina. “This year is the 125th annual Christmas Bird Count, and that makes it the longest-running community science project in North America.”
Anyone can participate in the CBC, regardless of their birding skill level, by joining one of the thousands of circles, each 15 miles in diameter, that comprise the event. The organizer of each circle chooses a day between December 14 and January 5 to conduct their count. On the appointed day, all participants in the circle have 24 hours in which to tally as many birds as they can. In addition to listing the individual species spotted, they also count the number of individual birds seen and participant hours logged.
The Great Smoky Mountains region includes circles in Gatlinburg, Cades Cove, Knoxville, Franklin, Highlands, Waynesville, Hot Springs and Asheville.
Feds to restart “technical and design work” for Foothills Parkway extension
Written by Thomas FraserConservation groups have cautioned against the zombie roadway between Wears Valley and Gatlinburg; EIS-level study uncertain
This story will be updated.
Concerns raised by the public over the decades range from impacts on domestic water supplies and endangered or threatened species to the fact the roadway might be a catalyst for excessive tourism infrastructure in Townsend and Wears Valley.
Park service opens trail to forever in Great Smokies
Written by Dave Barak
Radically enhanced Ramsey Cascades Trail leads to national park’s highest waterfall
Dave Barak is a public affairs specialist with the National Park Service.
GATLINBURG — In collaboration with Friends of the Smokies, the National Park Service (NPS) completed a three-year restoration of the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located in the Greenbrier area, this popular trail ascends through beautiful hardwood forests to the 105-foot Ramsey Cascades, the tallest waterfall in the park. The trail is now open seven days a week following an extensive reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The NPS and Friends of the Smokies celebrated the milestone at the Ramsey Cascades trailhead. Following remarks and a ribbon-cutting, several participants hiked the newly restored trail together.
Improvements to the Ramsey Cascades Trail include:
Throughout this rehabilitation, the NPS restored Ramsey Cascades — with the original trail design in mind — in a way that blends in with the natural landscape. Trail crew members used natural materials and hand tools and transported most tools and equipment by hand or pack mule. A helicopter delivered several loads to five drop sites that the mule team could not access. The trail crew used 1,200 black locust logs and 760,000 pounds of rock crush for fill for this rehabilitation.
“Trails Forever is an excellent example of the collaborative partnership between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Friends of the Smokies,” said Boone Vandzura, Acting Deputy Superintendent. “Together we’ve preserved and rehabilitated trails that enhance the recreational experience of millions of visitors.”
Helene: A month after epic flooding, Smokies still reeling from storm effects
Written by Holly Kays
Damage to park infrastructure widespread on North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Holly Kays is the lead writer for Smokies Life.
GATLINBURG — As Hurricane Helene gathered strength in the southern Gulf of Mexico, it seemed likely Great Smoky Mountains National Park would take a direct hit. The storm was a category 4 before slamming Florida’s Gulf Coast; then it headed north toward the Smokies.
But its course shifted east. Helene and its predecessor storm dropped unfathomable amounts of rain across Southern Appalachia — many places received well over a dozen inches in a matter of days, with some locations recording two dozen or more. The storm’s severity was unprecedented in the region, causing flash floods and landslides that have so far claimed at least 95 lives in North Carolina alone. Asheville, where extreme flooding destroyed entire neighborhoods and decimated the water system, logged more than 14 inches between September 24 and September 28.
Most of the park fell far enough west of Helene’s path to escape with only minor flooding, but its extreme eastern region — Cataloochee, Balsam Mountain, Big Creek — was inundated. Record-setting rains tore out trails and roads and damaged historic buildings, leading the park to close these areas until further notice.
Updated Oct. 12: Helene: Recovery grinds along in Smokies, multiple major watersheds; questions arise about fate of Pigeon River sediment pollutants; major disaster averted at Waterville
Written by T. Fraser, JJ Stambaugh, P. Penland and W. Naegeli
Two weeks after epic floods, a far cry from normalcy; utility repairs continue; Del Rio still reels; Hot Springs limps; outpouring of help and mountain grit as battered communities take stock
This story will be updated.
The original story and updates continue below. We have been adding more images, videos, links, live or interactive graphs and specifics to our earlier reporting and updates.
GATLINBURG — Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff continue to assess the damage sustained by the country’s most-visited national park during Tropical Storm Helene. (The storm was at tropical storm strength when it struck the mountains Sept. 26-27, prompting a rare tropical-storm warning for Western North Carolina).
The Cataloochee and Big Creek areas on the North Carolina side in Haywood County were particularly hard-hit, and significant damage was reported to park cultural resources and road and bridge infrastructure. Those areas remain closed. Most roads and trails on the Tennessee side of the national park are open. Cataloochee is a valuable tourist draw during the fall rutting season of elk populations successfully reintroduced to the park in the 1990s.
Here’s an update from the National Park Service:
“The park experienced substantial damage, particularly in North Carolina, including Balsam Mountain, Big Creek and Cataloochee Valley.
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Updated Oct. 2: Helene hits the mountains: Death toll nears 200; factory scrutinized after worker deaths in Erwin; major roads and railroad links still cut; massive recovery underway; havoc in So. Appalachians
Written by T. Fraser, JJ Stambaugh; P. Penland and W. NaegeliHelene fallout continues; hundreds still missing; at least 60 dead in NC; flooding and wind damage still widespread in Southern Appalachians; National Guard in action; land access, supplies, communications, water and power still spotty
This story will be updated.
The original story and updates continue below.
We have been adding more images, videos, links, live or interactive graphs and specifics to earlier updates, too. So, keep scrolling to glean them after touching the More… button. You may want to bookmark some of the interactive features for your own present and future use.
ERWIN — The death toll from Hurricane Helene climbed to at least 180 people on Wednesday, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in 50 years with the exception of Hurricane Katrina, which claimed over 1,800 lives in 2005 in what was also a largely impoverished area.
In one-hard hit community in the mountains of northeast Tennessee, emotions grew high as Spanish-speaking family of missing loved ones accused first responders through an interpreter of showboating, classism and preferential rescues during a tense press conference broadcast live on X.
The mounting death toll and increasingly fruitless searches came as millions of people spent their sixth day without running water or power and an ad hoc army of first responders, volunteers and National Guard troops struggled to deliver life-saving supplies to communities throughout the Southern Appalachians that were cut off by the record breaking flash floods spawned by the storm.
In Erwin, a town of 6,000 in Unicoi County, officials confirmed that a criminal investigation had been launched into the conduct of a manufacturing company that was accused of forcing employees to keep working even as floodwaters rose to dangerous levels.
The alleged decision by the management team at Impact Plastics led to the deaths of at least two employees while four others remain missing, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has been tasked with determining whether there’s enough evidence of wrongdoing to warrant criminal charges.
“At the request of First Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney, TBI agents are investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics,” said TBI spokesperson Leslie Earhart in an e-mail exchange with Hellbender Press.
Earhart referred questions to Finney, who said “there will be no further comment from my office … until the investigation is complete.”
According to the company — which denied any wrongdoing — five employees and one contractor were lost while trying to leave the facility on Friday.
“When water began to cover the parking lot and the adjacent service road, and the plant lost power, employees were dismissed by management to return to their homes in time for them to escape the industrial park,” said a company press release. “At no time were employees told that they would be fired if they left the facility …. While most employees left immediately, some remained on or near the premises for unknown reasons.”
Several workers tried to escape the premises on a truck but were swept away when the vehicle overturned, according to the company.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” said Gerald O'Connor, who founded the company in Erwin in 1987. “Those who are missing or deceased, and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”
A Spanish-speaking woman clutching a blown-up photo of a missing relative blasted Unicoi County Emergency Manager Jim Erwin through an interpreter.
“My daughter was screaming ‘help, help,’ but the people in the hospital were a bigger priority than she was. I want my daughter! I want my daughter,” she implored in Spanish, referencing the water and air evacuation of Unicoi Hospital on Friday morning.
Officials responded that the Unicoi County 911 dispatch center had received multiple requests for a timeline of Sept. 27 911 calls. They assured her the search continued, and that Erwin had visited with family of all the known missing.
Erwin, who said he was among those trapped at the hospital, appeared flustered for a moment at the woman’s insistent quest for answers, noting that the discussion, practically speaking, was not helping locate her missing daughter.
“If I was white and rich you would be looking for me,” the mother cried through the interpreter. “Labor workers never matter to you, because they work in a factory.”
Migrant laborers live throughout northeast Tennessee, working mainly in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Many have very limited resources, and already live within some of the poorest counties in the state.
Officials said Wednesday that Hurricane Helene killed 91 people in North Carolina, 36 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 17 in Florida, 9 in Tennessee, and 2 in Virginia.
In Newport, the county seat of hard-hit Cocke County about 45 minutes east of Knoxville on I-40, hundreds of people lined up in parking lots or flocked to grocery stores in a desperate scramble to secure the basic necessities of survival.
As is often the case in such disasters, the storm was a vivid reminder of the value of being prepared for the unexpected.
The Jenkins family, who lives in the rural Cocke County community of Bybee, said the floods developed so quickly that most residents didn’t have enough time to prepare and those who did still weren’t fully prepared for such a powerful deluge.
“The aftermath was something out of an adventure or post-apocalyptic film,” said Tiffany Jenkins, who lives on Knob Creek Road with her husband, Steve, and his two children from a previous marriage.
“Cars standing on their front ends, bridges completely washed out, and no safe route to or from civilization,” she said. “Finding ways out of town was almost impossible in itself, even with intimate knowledge of the area and typical flood zones. The problem is this was not a typical flood.”
Most Cocke County residents are still without clean water thanks to damage to the area’s water treatment plant. The Jenkins, however, are grateful to have resources that allowed them to ride out the storm and even help their neighbors in the aftermath.
“Luckily, my family has well water, which allows us to fill jugs of water for our friends and anyone else who needs it who could get to us but couldn’t get to Newport, where they were giving away free supplies,” she said.
“My family bought a used generator we could not afford because emergency services warned us to be prepared to be without electricity for a week or longer, though the power outage only lasted about 24 hours for us personally.”
She added: “The big problem was, and still remains, the lack of city water services.”
According to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Cocke was one of 21 counties experiencing problems due to storm damage to their water treatment stations, 17 of which had been forced to issue Boil Water advisories.
Officials from TVA said that all dams in the affected region had been inspected and “were secure and stable.”
During the storm, the most severe crisis faced by TVA was the potential failure of the Nolichucky Dam, prompting authorities to repeatedly warn people living downstream about the potential for a cataclysmic dam failure.
“TVA’s River Forecast Center is monitoring all other tributaries in the impacted areas, where rivers are gradually returning to normal levels. The team is also working to manage downstream reservoirs, which are rising. TVA’s focus is on preventing additional flooding and moving water through the system to recover reservoir storage,” a statement posted on TVA’s website website said.
Large segments of the Appalachian Trail were shut down by the storms while the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina sustained “catastrophic damage,” which is still being assessed, according to the National Park Service.
In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Foothills Parkway East near Cosby and Lakeview Drive remain closed while park staff address storm damage.
“The National Park Service has deployed its Eastern Incident Management Team to assist parks in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina with damage assessments and recovery as conditions allow,” said a statement issued by the Park Service. “The team is coordinating with parks, FEMA, and other agencies on their actions.”
Here’s another look from the federal level
Normally a fairly prolific X user, Rep. Tim Burchett of Knoxville doesn’t represent the worst affected regions but flooding occurred within Knox County and down the road in Newport and other points along the Pigeon River and French Broad River, which joins the Holston to form the Tennessee River, which flows directly through Knoxville. He didn’t post about the disaster or offer any warnings or assistance until late Sept. 27, when his first reference to Hurricane Helene’s effect on the mountains was a repost of a user conflating flood relief and U.S. support of Ukraine. The worst flooding had occurred hours before. His only other post on that fateful day was another claim of pending election irregularities.
After a flurry of obligatory reposts of aid requests and resources; Burchett wrapped it up late Wednesday with a repost of a follower claiming FEMA was confiscating money and homes. He told the follower he had checked it out, and FEMA denies that is happening.
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Smokies Superintendent Cassius Cash will go west to support Yosemite
Written by Peter Bartelme
Cash spent nearly a decade at helm of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Peter Bartelme is Yosemite Conservancy public affairs representative.
SAN FRANCISCO — Yosemite Conservancy announced Sept. 20 that Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius M. Cash is its new, incoming president and CEO.
Cash will lead the organization into its second century of service — spearheading projects and programs that enhance the visitor experience and inspire donor support to protect and preserve Yosemite National Park for future generations.
Cash joins the Conservancy after 15 years of service in the National Park Service and 18 years of service with the U.S. Forest Service, most recently serving as superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for nearly a decade.
Highlights of his time in the Smokies, the most-visited national park, include oversight of the response to the fatal wildfires of 2016; the creation of mandatory paid-permit parking; a focus on diversity; and promotion of adaptive technologies that allow for the disabled to venture into the outdoors.
ᎫᏬᎯ: Cherokee name restored to Tennessee’s highest mountain
Written by Katie Liming
Work already underway to replace signage related to peak named after Rebel general
Katie Liming is a public information officer at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
GATLINBURG — The U.S. Board on Geographic Names voted Sept. 18 in favor of the formal request submitted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to change the name of Clingmans Dome (FID #1326387) to Kuwohi.
Kuwohi is the Cherokee name for the mountain and translates to “mulberry place.” In Cherokee syllabary, the name is ᎫᏬᎯ. The National Park Service strongly supported the name restoration and applauds today’s decision, which also received support from local communities and governments.
Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland. Kuwohi is visible from the Qualla Boundary, the home of the Eastern Band. Efforts are already underway to update signage, website and other materials with the Kuwohi name.
Clingmans Dome has always been known as Kuwohi to the Cherokee. The mountain became known as Clingmans Dome following an 1859 survey by geographer Arnold Guyot, named for Thomas Lanier Clingman, who was a lawyer, U.S. representative and senator from North Carolina, and Confederate brigadier general.
Stubborn Flint Gap fire continues to burn in Great Smokies
Written by Katie Liming
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.
Park service: Economic impact of Great Smoky Mountains National Park reaches new heights
Written by Katie Liming
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.”
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Mountain monarchs inspired Wanda DeWaard’s legacy of citizen science
Written by Élan Young
Successful Smokies monarch tagging project is a product of the people
Every winter, way up in the oyumel firs in Mexico’s high elevation forests, millions of North American monarch butterflies that have traveled from as far north as Canada cluster in colonies to overwinter before flying north again to lay eggs in spring. Tens of thousands of monarchs might adorn a single tree like a papery gown, sometimes weighing it down enough to break off branches.
To get to the oyumel forests several miles above sea level, which provide a perfect microclimate for the weary travelers, they migrate south using different aerial paths, or flyways, that merge together over Central Texas. This migrating generation can live up to nine months and might travel anywhere from 1,000-3,000 miles to the forests they seek, yet have never been to. Mysteriously, they find their way and sometimes even make it to the exact tree where their ancestors four or five generations back once clustered.
Monarchs are the only butterfly that makes a long two-way migration. Despite much research on the species, science still hasn’t fully unraveled the secrets of their incredibly accurate homing system. This makes them one of the true marvels of the natural world.
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Hunt mushrooms in the Smokies for the 2024 Continental Mycoblitz
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.
Park service opens comment period for Foothills Parkway extension from Wears Cove to Gatlinburg
GATLINBURG — The National Park Service has posted the Foothills Parkway Section 8D Environmental Assessment (EA) for a 30-day public comment period ending Aug. 21. The EA evaluates the construction of nine miles of new parkway from Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
(Hellbender Press first reported on this proposal in 2021.)
A virtual public meeting about the EA and the proposed action will be held at 5 p.m. July 30. The meeting will include a presentation about the overview of the project and give time for the public to ask questions.
Read the EA, learn more about the proposed Foothills Parkway Section 8D project, and provide comments.
Before FDR, the artists and the auto dealers: How Knoxville influenced early days of Great Smokies park campaign
Written by Thomas Fraser
Knoxville History Project observes 100th anniversary of a key meeting and month in Great Smoky Mountains history
KNOXVILLE — Parts of the mountains were broken, but it was all beautiful, and many artists and writers long took careful note of the rugged, remote rainforest to the southeast of the city.
Decades before modern scientific endeavors like the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory began documenting the wondrous, mountainous biodiversity of what was to become Great Smoky Mountains National Park, photographers, writers, journalists, naturalists and artists, including many from Knoxville, extolled the virtues of the relatively lofty blue-green mountains seen in silhouette from the city.
Much of the land was scarred by logging and erosion; much was not, and its beauty, frozen in a frame or penned to a page, spoke for itself through countless artists.
Their early 20th-century renderings of the Smokies, from prose to photographs, amazed critical federal officials and the public and helped close the complex deal on what is now the most visited national park in the United States.
The Knoxville History Project is offering a series of events and symposium set for July 25-27, centered around the East Tennessee History Center on Gay Street, that will recognize the varied efforts of historical Knoxvillians to boost the concept of the national park through multimedia arts, science and journalism.
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