LONE MOUNTAIN ― The Tennessee Valley Authority is asking the public for comments on plans to issue a permit and 30-year easement for a new marina and connected facilities on 63 acres on Norris Reservoir at Clinch River Mile 134.7 in Claiborne County.
Per TVA’s draft environmental assessment: “The proposed (Norris Lake Serenity, LLC) Project would include 1,216 public boat slips, a floating marina store, fuel docks, a wave break, utilities to service the boat slips, land-based porticos, a boat ramp, and access roads and associated infrastructure. TVA’s action includes approval of the construction of proposed facilities within TVA’s flowage easement and approval of a 30-year easement for operation of the commercial marina.”
Details on the proposed Tennessee Vues Marina are found in a draft environmental assessment posted at tva.com/nepa. The draft assessment considers the potential environmental impacts of the commercial marina as requested in Section 26a permit applications. The marina would include boat slips for public rental and is consistent with TVA’s land management policies.
Comments on the draft EA can be submitted by Dec. 22, 2025, and may be submitted online at tva.com/nepa, emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or mailed to Jessica Wykoff-Carpenter, NEPA Specialist, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 W. Summit Hill Drive WT 11B, Knoxville, TN 37902. All comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the project administrative record and will be available for public inspection.
-Tennessee Valley Authority
CHATTANOOGA — The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold its final meeting of 2025 at the Tennessee Aquarium (Lupton Room) on Dec. 4-5. Committee meetings begin at 1 p.m. Dec. 4, with full commission proceedings continuing at 9 a.m. Dec. 5. Both meetings will be streamed on Youtube.
The commission will have three rule-making hearings, which were previewed by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency staff at the TFWC’s October meeting in Nashville. To view the October TFWC meeting, click here. They pertain to the deer-baiting privilege license (only on private or leased lands), the North Cumberland OHV permit, and changes to the endangered or threatened species list.
One species, the teardrop darter, is under consideration to be added to the state Threatened and Endangered Species list. It is only found in Tennessee and Kentucky, where it occurs in the Barren and Green river systems. Two species, the Clinch dace and Sequatchie darter, are proposed to be removed from the list because they are not recognized by the American Fisheries Society.
Leading up to the rule-making hearing, Wildlife and Forestry Division Assistant Chief Mark McBride and wildlife veterinarian Dr. Dan Grove will present background information on the Deer Baiting Privilege License during Thursday's committee meetings. Expected impacts of baiting on deer, deer harvests, impacts on other species, and CWD will be among the topics discussed.
-TWRA
OAK RIDGE — The city is investing in a new cooling system for the Oak Ridge Recreation Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The recreation center includes a game room with pool tables and arcade games, as well a gym and an indoor pool. In a news release, city government described the new cooling technology as innovative and “designed to improve operational efficiency, lower electricity costs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions for the facility while supporting the growth of a local clean-tech company.”
That company is Shift Thermal and its system stores energy in the form of ice, made during off-peak hours when power is cheapest and cleanest.
“During the hottest parts of the day, when electricity demand and costs are at their highest, the stored ice supplements the building’s air conditioning, which then improves performance and reduces the strain on the power grid,” Shift Thermal CTO Mitchell Ishmael said in the news release.
The company uses an immiscible working fluid to circulate through the system, eliminating traditional ice-storage heat exchangers. This design simplifies installation, increases efficiency, and lowers costs for large-scale cooling systems, the news release stated.
-Ben Pounds
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) will be operating chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling stations across the state on the opening day of the 2025 muzzleloader season, Saturday, Nov. 8, to monitor the presence of CWD in white-tailed deer populations. Hunters play a crucial role in this monitoring effort by bringing harvested deer to designated sampling locations.
CWD, a contagious and fatal neurological disease affecting deer, has been detected in 18 counties, all in West Tennessee except one positive county in Middle Tennessee (Lewis County). A complete list of counties where CWD has been detected and specific test locations is available at tnwildlife.org. By participating in CWD sampling, hunters can assist TWRA in early detection and prevent the disease from spreading.
-TWRA
JOHNSON CITY — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is investigating a fatal boating collision on South Holston Lake on Saturday, Sept. 20.
At 9:45 p.m. a bass boat carrying two people struck a pillar of the Hwy. 421 bridge. The collision resulted in the death of the passenger and left the operator with serious injuries.
The operator was airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center, while the passenger, Ronald E. Taylor, 72, of Virginia, was dead at the scene. The medical examiner will be conducting an autopsy.
TWRA extends its gratitude to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Sullivan County Rescue Squad, Bristol Life Saving Crew, and a local volunteer fire department for their assistance.
This incident marks the 20th boating-related fatality on Tennessee’s waterways in 2025. The investigation continues.
-TWRA
KNOXVILLE — Hellbender Press continued its tradition of excellence in journalism in 2024 with award-winning coverage of the unprecedented disaster spawned by Tropical Storm Helene in the Southern Appalachians.
Editor and Publisher Thomas Fraser and writer and reporter John Stambaugh accepted the awards at an East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists downtown banquet in May.
The society sponsors the competition each year to recognize the best journalism in East Tennessee published in 2024. This year’s contest was judged by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists.
Hellbender Press received three first-place awards in the digital-only category, all related to Helene: Hurricane Helene Breaking Coverage; Deadline/Breaking News Reporting; and Series/Package/Project Writing.
Two of the judges drew parallels with news coverage of other historic events.
GATLINBURG — The National Park Service lifted a ban March 17 (the ban was originally issued March 13) on all campfires and charcoal use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park put in place during recent windy and dry weather. Campers and hikers should still be cautious with fires.
The original story continues below:
This fire ban will remain in effect until further notice on both the Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the park.
Campers, backpackers, and visitors using picnic areas may continue to use cookstoves with compressed gas canisters and gas grills that feature an on/off switch. Stoves and grills must be attended at all times.
The NPS is collaborating with multiple agencies in response to current and predicted weather and fuel conditions. Visitors are urged to exercise extra caution while on public lands, including national parks and national forests, in North Carolina and Tennessee when fire danger is elevated.
For the latest information regarding the fire ban in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, please visit the park's current conditions webpage.
-National Park Service
Clint Carroll, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, will talk Feb. 27 at McClung Museum about the Cherokee philosophy of the ‘Middle Way.’
KNOXVILLE — A central aspect of Cherokee worldview is ᎠᏰᎵ ᎦᏙᎬ (ayehli gadogv), or “Standing in the Middle,” a philosophy that humans occupy a role in a web of complex interactions between mutually dependent organisms. Standing in the Middle emphasizes the importance of balance and reciprocity in persisting relationships.
A lecture at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at McClung Museum, 1327 Circle Park, Knoxville, will feature Dr. Clint Carroll, who will explore how Standing in the Middle informs ecology, conservation, management practices, epistemology and science communication in the face of unprecedented anthropogenic (human-caused) change.
Light refreshments will be available before the lecture.
Clint Carroll is associate professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, he works closely with Cherokee people in Oklahoma on issues of land conservation and the perpetuation of land-based knowledge and ways of life.
KNOXVILLE — Meet representatives of a budding land conservancy and raise a glass and network to support conservation.
This month’s installment of Green Drinks Knoxville, is set for 7-8 p.m. Feb. 12, 2025 at Albright Grove Brewing Company, 2924 Sutherland Ave.
This meetup Knoxville features TennGreen Land Conservancy Executive Director Alice Hudson Pell and Matthew McClanahan, East Tennessee Vice President. They will share updates on current projects and TennGreen’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.
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.
