The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Creature Features (100)

IMG 4356cave1 IMGCenturyThe limestone cliffs and bluffs of Ijams Nature Center are home to the Berry Cave salamander. The cave is very hard to find, is gated, and entry is forbidden to protect both the salamander and bat populations.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

Lawsuit prompts federal agency to reconsider protections for rare East Tennessee salamander

KNOXVILLE — The Southern Environmental Law Center, which championed the conservation of a salamander found only in a series of caves within the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, announced Jan. 16 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to reconsider inclusion of the Berry Cave salamander on the Endangered Species List.

The release from SELC follows; the original story published in July 2024 continues below.

“The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, reached an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that requires the agency to reconsider listing the Berry Cave salamander—a rare salamander that is only found in a handful of East Tennessee caves—as an endangered species.

The already rare salamanders are under immense pressure from sprawling development in the region, and even the largest observed populations of the Berry Cave salamander are quickly declining. Survey results indicate that a population found in Knoxville’s Meads Quarry Cave—historically one of the salamander’s relative strongholds—fell by 65 percent between 2004 and 2019.

Thursday’s agreement comes eight months after the conservation groups sued the Service, arguing that the agency violated federal law when it denied Endangered Species Act protections for the Berry Cave salamander in 2019. The surprising denial came at a time when the agency’s regional leadership had directed staff to implement a quota system that set annual targets for denying species protections—a system that may have inappropriately influenced the Berry Cave salamander decision. 

The agreement requires the agency to reevaluate the Berry Cave salamander’s status and determine by August 2029 whether it should be listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“This agreement is an important step toward securing long-overdue protections for the Berry Cave salamander and correcting a harmful mistake from the Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Liz Rasheed, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We hope the agency will follow the science — as required by law — and give these one-of-a-kind salamanders the protections they need to have a shot at survival.” 

Last modified on Thursday, 16 January 2025 17:26

Hop on a call to start planning Amphibian Week

Amphibians Masters of Two Worlds

Join an engaging webinar to jumpstart planning for Amphibian Week 2025, which highlights the diversity and ecological importance of amphibians while exploring ways to support their conservation.

The annual hopalong, set for May 4-10,  is organized by Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.

The event is highly collaborative in nature; anyone from scientists to teachers and regular citizens can celebrate amphibians during the week, which will feature different themes each day. PARC is hosting a planning webinar at 3 p.m. Jan 30.  

According to organizers, the call will discuss the significance of Amphibian Week, its history and the urgent need to protect these fascinating creatures. Get a first look at the 2025 theme, “Masters of Two Worlds,” along with exciting activities and success stories from last year. Learn how to get involved, access valuable resources and collaborate. Register for the Zoom call.

4 cbc pileated caneycreek Evan Kidd photo 600x846A 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

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.

3 Common mergansers Warren Bielenberg 768x512A 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

Last modified on Monday, 06 January 2025 15:54

hellbender eslThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks public comment on a proposal to place the eastern hellbender on the Endangered Species List. The hellbender seen here is part of an exhibit at an East Tennessee zoo.  Chattanooga Zoo

USFWS seeks public comment on proposed listing of crucial indicator species throughout its known range; several populations in Smokies region

Melissa Clark is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service senior public affairs specialist.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Dec. 12 a proposal to list the eastern hellbender as an endangered species throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act. Eastern hellbenders are found in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

“The eastern hellbender is a unique salamander that plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems,” said Service Midwest Regional Director Will Meeks. “As key indicators of stream and river health, hellbenders need protection that also will help support healthier ecosystems across their range.”

Historically, eastern hellbenders have been documented in 626 populations. Recent data indicate only 371 of these populations (59%) remain. Among the remaining populations, only 45 (12%) are stable, 108 (29%) have an unknown recruitment status, and 218 (59%) are in decline.

The eastern hellbender is one of two subspecies of hellbenders in the United States. The other subspecies, the Ozark hellbender, occurs in Missouri and Arkansas and was listed as an endangered species in 2011. In 2021, the Missouri distinct population segment of the eastern hellbender was listed as endangered.

Last modified on Saturday, 14 December 2024 00:47

mudpuppyA mudpuppy mugs for the camera. A hellbender survey in North Georgia uncovered these rare denizens of Southern Appalachia.  Tyler Troxel/Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Only three of the small water dogs have been documented in North Georgia section of Tennessee River drainage since 2011

Thomas Floyd is a wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

BLAIRSVILLE — Hellbender surveys in North Georgia turned up a welcome surprise this summer: one of the state’s few sightings of common mudpuppies.

Although these big freshwater salamanders also known as waterdogs range from New York to the Great Lakes and from southern Canada to the rivers of northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, common mudpuppies are abundant in only parts of that realm. And in Georgia, they are rare.

The mid-August capture and release of three mudpuppies near Blairsville marked only the third time that Necturus maculosus has been documented in the state. The previous sightings were near Ringgold in 1987 and McCaysville in 2010.

While mudpuppies are found alongside eastern hellbenders throughout much of the hellbender’s range, it’s unclear why mudpuppies are so elusive or simply absent in many streams in Western North Carolina and Georgia.

Differentiating mudpuppies from hellbendersA Blairsville mudpuppy is seen on the right. On the left are ways to identify a common mudpuppy.  Thomas Floyd/Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Since 2011, DNR surveys have recorded nearly 900 hellbenders across the Tennessee River drainage in North Georgia. But during that same time, and in what is the state's presumed distribution of mudpuppies, only three waterdogs have been seen. 

Last modified on Friday, 22 November 2024 21:26

Red-cockaded woodpecker in flight.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.

Last modified on Friday, 22 November 2024 00:35

Big South Fork wild hogsWild 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).

Last modified on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 22:50
Friday, 13 September 2024 11:11

Don’t hate the diggers. Hate the ginseng game.

Written by

ginsengA 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.

Last modified on Friday, 13 September 2024 23:28

Union Grove Cover TennGreenTennessee 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. 

Published in News, Creature Features
Last modified on Thursday, 29 August 2024 19:06

Wanda DeWard with butterly netWanda DeWaard has spent 30 years studying and tagging monarch butterflies. Here she leads a volunteer group of citizen scientists tagging monarchs in Cades Cove.  Photos courtesy of Wanda DeWaard

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.

Elanmonarch3A tagged monarch feeds on nectar in the Great Smokies before joining the migration to Mexico for the winter.

Last modified on Thursday, 21 November 2024 13:37

Laurel Dace RescueTennessee 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.

Laurel Dace RescueThis 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.

Last modified on Friday, 30 August 2024 18:33
ijams2The live animal shows and educational lectures were a big draw during the annual Ijams Nature Center Hummingbird Festival held Aug. 17 at the center in Knoxville.  Photos by John White/phocasso for Hellbender Press
 

Annual Hummingbird Festival showcases Appalachia’s airborne denizens

KNOXVILLE Jane Willard loves it when people put a name to the face of a butterfly. Or a bird. Or a bat.
She and Sarah Parker were crewing a booth of natural relics on Aug. 19 at the 2024 Hummingbird Festival at Ijams Nature Center, an annual celebration of all winged things.
Their display of items from the Ijams collection ranged from fierce and sharp owl talons to carefully curated moth and butterfly collections and a somewhat forlorn version of a long-gone little brown bat rendered relatively immortal by a long-gone taxidermist.
Passersby, their interests piqued, stopped and chatted in the humid late-summer morning. Some recognized butterflies and moths that had formerly forever remained nameless in their minds. Connections were made.
“People love stopping by,” and getting hands-on with native flora and fauna, said Willard, an AmeriCorps member who typically works on urban water quality issues with the Water Quality Forum.
 
ijams4Children learn about the four seasons during one of many immersive educational activities available during the Aug. 17 Hummingbird Festival at Ijams Nature Center.
Last modified on Wednesday, 28 August 2024 19:33
Thursday, 15 August 2024 15:15

Hunt mushrooms in the Smokies for the 2024 Continental Mycoblitz

DLIA

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.

Last modified on Saturday, 19 October 2024 00:14
Thursday, 01 August 2024 14:13

Science takes wing at 2024 Ijams Hummingbird Festival

IMG 0280 3Certified master bander Mark Armstrong tends gently to a tufted titmouse shortly before turning his attention to a hummingbird at the 2021 Ijams Hummingbird Festival, set this year for Aug. 17.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

KNOXVILLE — Ijams Nature Center’s 14th annual Ijams Hummingbird Festival: A Celebration of Wings will bring back its popular marketplace and add new activities to its offerings from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 17.

A general admission ticket provides access to educational booths and activities, dip netting, live animal encounters, and a kids’ nature zone where children and families can create arts projects and crafts, conduct experiments, and more. Community science opportunities, guided nature walks, and new hands-on workshops also will be offered.

General admission tickets are $12 for adults (ages 13+) and $9 for children ages 3-12. Children under 3 are free. Ijams Nature Center members receive a 10 percent discount on the festival ticket price.

This year’s festival also brings back the marketplace, featuring handcrafted art, nature-themed items, local plants, and garden décor, as well as speaker sessions.

Attendees can choose to schedule a bird-banding demonstration for an additional charge. Each small group will get the opportunity for an up-close look at a hummingbird or another bird in a small-group setting with master bander Mark Armstrong. He will weigh, measure, band, and talk about the birds before allowing one person in each group to release the bird.

Bird banding demonstrations are offered in 30-minute sessions starting at 7 a.m.; the last appointment is 12 p.m. Your best chance to see a ruby-throated hummingbird being banded is during the earlier appointments.

The 14th annual Ijams Hummingbird Festival: A Celebration of Wings is sponsored by Accenture, HomeTrust Bank, Stanley’s Greenhouse, Tennessee Wildlife Federation, and Wild Birds Unlimited Maryville.

Last modified on Monday, 19 August 2024 09:36
Wednesday, 10 July 2024 13:55

‘Cute little falcons’ fly free in Wildwood

Written by

kestrelKatheryn Albrecht holds a juvenile American kestrel just prior to releasing it into the Wildwood area of Blount County as part of the Farmland Raptor Project.  Thomas Fraseer/Hellbender Press

Farmland Raptor Project takes wing to expand raptor populations on private properties

WILDWOOD — She felt the bird in her hand in her heart as the kestrel strained toward freedom.

Elise Eustace, communications director for Foothills Land Conservancy, blessed the bird and let it go, free to make a home somewhere on the 300-acre Andy Harris Farm or elsewhere in the Wildwood area of Blount County. “I’ve never gotten to do something like this,” she said. “So exciting.” 

Two other juvenile kestrels joined their kin on the warm summer afternoon, lighting into nearby oaks and atop a telephone line above the red and yellow pollinator gardens and dry pasture and cornfield and copses that punctuate the property in the shadow of smoky knobs that rise gradually to the Smokies crest beyond the blue-green hollows of the Little River watershed. Resident sparrows, bluebirds and kingbirds voiced displeasure at the new arrivals. 

Last modified on Thursday, 11 July 2024 00:48
Page 1 of 6