Rosemary Bear (class of 2022) cools off in a cub tub (all to herself this time, thank you) on a hot July day at Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend. The center entered a new agreement with licensing authority Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency that calls for improved sanitation, regular pen rotation and burnovers and other management techniques. TWRA euthanized 13 bears in December 2024 following fatal and persistent strains of pneumonia. The center has been closed since; ABR director Greg Grieco said on July 22 the facility expects to complete renovations and be ready for the next crop of orphaned and injured bears by spring 2026. Appalachian Bear Rescue
This is a joint release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Appalachian Bear Rescue.
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) have reached a new partnership agreement for black bear rehabilitation in Tennessee.
During the course of 2023 and 2024, the presence of pneumonia raised initial concerns about the health of bears being housed at ABR. After a difficult decision in December 2024 to euthanize 13 bears, the agency temporarily paused the placement of bears at the facility.
In the months that followed, TWRA staff sought input from bear managers, wildlife veterinarians and disease pathologists in other states on best management practices and pen sanitation measures such as discing, burns and leaving pens empty on an annual rotational schedule. ABR staff immediately started working to implement extensive modifications and upgrades to the facility to align with the recommendations of these professionals.
TWRA leadership also began working with ABR to draft an official operating agreement to strengthen the relationship between the two entities, set clear expectations for best management practices for bear rehabilitation and provide transparency to members of the public invested in wildlife conservation.
Upper Cataloochee Road was among the many infrastructure victims in Great Smoky Mountains National Park following Hurricane Helene. Cataloochee Valley was the hardest-hit section of the park. The park service said it intends to reopen the road April 4. National Park Service
Kendra Straub is a communications officer with the National Park Service.
CATALOOCHEE — The National Park Service (NPS) will reopen portions of Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park beginning April 4. Cataloochee Valley has been closed since September 2024 following significant damage from Hurricane Helene. Within the park, Cataloochee Valley saw the worst impacts from Hurricane Helene.
The following roads will open to vehicles in Cataloochee on April 4: Cataloochee Entrance Road up to Beech Grove School; Cataloochee Creek Road to the Old Cataloochee Entrance Road Bridge; and Old Highway 284. Visitors will be able to drive Cataloochee Valley Entrance Road up to Beech Grove School.
KNOXVILLE — Discover Life in America has a newly established partnership with Schulz Bräu Brewing Company to host its monthly Conservation on Tap speaker series.
The latest installment of the series at the new venue is 7 p.m. April 16. Join Conservation on Tap at Schulz Bräu Brewing Company, 126 Bernard Ave, Knoxville.
Join us for an insightful presentation by Phil Francis, Chairman of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, and former acting superintendent of GSMNP, as he provides an update on the current challenges facing the National Park Service and our national parks.
Francis will discuss the critical resources that need protection and the staffing necessary to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these cherished public lands. This event is a must-attend for anyone passionate about the future of America’s national parks and the efforts needed to safeguard them for generations to come. Learn more at: protectnps.org.
Come support local conservation efforts and enjoy a wide selection of 20+ beers on-tap (and plenty of nonalcoholic beverages) and some authentic German fare from Schulzes Schnitzel Kitchen.
Campers are seen enjoying a morning at Elkmont Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elkmont is one of the Smokies campgrounds still open. National Park Service
KNOXVILLE — Funding for national parks has never amounted to much, and the federal government will cut even more if people don’t speak out in defense of the country’s natural and ecological crown jewels.
That was the message from Phil Francis, chairman of the Coalition to Protect American National Parks and former acting superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He spoke to an audience at Knoxville’s Schulz Bräu Brewing Company hosted by Discover Life in America. Francis said that due to rising concerns his organization grew from 500 members to over 4,000 during the Trump administration. The coalition, he said, includes many people like himself who used to work for the park system, including the former superintendent of Acadia National Park.
Francis advocated that others should lobby government officials to continue to support the parks.
“If you don’t speak up, it makes it a lot more difficult,” he told the audience.
(The original story is below).
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Missing hiker Ann Houghton, age 73, was found deceased in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on February 2 at approximately 1:53 p.m. She was found roughly a quarter mile off Enloe Creek Trail.
Houghton was reported missing to the park on Feb. 1. She had planned to hike in the park Jan. 28-29. Her vehicle was located at the Smokemont Campground. Law enforcement and search and rescue staff began a search for her on Feb. 1 in the Smokemont area, focusing efforts along Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge and Enloe Creek trails. Several local agencies assisted the park with search operations, investigations and emergency services including Cherokee Fire and Rescue, BUSAR, Macon Volunteer Fire Department, Cowee Volunteer Fire Department, Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
PIGEON FORGE — Learn about the culture and ecology of the Southern Appalachians from a warm hotel and conference center, and then get outside and keep learning during the annual knowledge-fest that is Wilderness Wildlife Week.
This year’s event is set for Jan. 28-Feb. 1 at The Ramsey Hotel and Convention Center, 3230 Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
Come celebrate the natural features, creatures and cultures of the Great Smoky Mountains. This year, we’ll be inviting some of the leading wildlife experts to lead informative discussions with you. Writers, artists, photographers, musicians, biologists and naturalist will entertain and inform. This is a great opportunity to learn and ask questions about nature.
Wilderness Wildlife Week celebrates the abundance of wildlife, variety of plants, trees and wildflowers, and the rich history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee through a series of classes, seminars, demonstrations, guided hikes, panel discussions and workshops.
A pileated woodpecker is seen seeking dinner; it is a common denizen of winter Southern Appalachian forests and likely made many Christmas bird lists. Evan Kidd via Smokies Life
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.
A male (left) and female common merganser perch on a rock. Though this species may winter in coastal areas, it tends to prefer freshwater habitat and winters in the Smokies in small numbers. Warren Bielenberg via Smokies Life
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.
A trail crew takes a breather after laboring on the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Crew members and park officials formally opened the rehabilitated trail this week after three years of work. National Park Service
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.
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.
Crews had to carry many materials and tools to the site by hand or mule. National Park Service
“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.”
The Hiram Caldwell House looks out over a road rendered impassable following major flooding on Rough Fork Creek. Cataloochee Valley is closed until further notice. National Park Service
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.
Cataloochee Valley is closed until further notice after flooding from Rough Creek Fork rendered Upper Cataloochee Valley Road impassable. National Park Service
Debris hangs from trees on the banks of the French Broad River near the main building of Hot Springs Resort and Spa. The river gauge at Hot Springs was offline during the main rain events immediately preceding the Sept. 27 floods but registered a peak just under 21 feet. The record stage is 22 feet, but that record will likely fall after review of provisional weather-gauge data by the National Weather Service. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press
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.
Tropical Storm Helene destroyed Upper Cataloochee Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and damaged other park infrastructure and historical resources. National Park Service
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.
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.
Demolished vehicles are seen in the area of what used to be Red Banks Campground in the Chestoa area of Unicoi County. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press
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.
Highlights of Cassius Cash’s tenure in Great Smoky Mountains National Park include regular hikes to discuss issues of race and diversity while surrounded by the astonishing biodiversity of the Smokies. Yosemite Conservancy
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.
