The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Thomas Fraser

Helene BlackMarbleBYC Sept 26 2024 NOAA20 v2

Team coverage of Sept. 27 disaster spanned three devastated East Tennessee watersheds

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. 

Uncle Sam style Smokey Bear Only You

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

Published in Feedbag
Wednesday, 05 February 2025 14:57

Stand in the Middle at McClung Museum

Clint CarrollClint 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.

Wednesday, 05 February 2025 14:25

February Green Drinks meetup highlights TennGreen

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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 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.

33rd Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week Program Guide

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.

bigsouthforkThe Big South Fork on the Cumberland River as seen at Leatherwood Ford in March 2020 when it recorded a record height of 39 feet. One year later, it recorded a new record height of 41 feet. The flooding destroyed four boat ramps in the area, the park service has now rebuilt them all. Big South Fork is a very popular paddling destination.  National Park Service

Big South Fork completes substantial repairs to four boat launches damaged in series of rain and windstorms

 ONEIDA —  Workers in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area completed repairs to four popular boat launches damaged by significant generational flooding events over the past couple of years. 

Park staff dismantled and rebuilt the boat launches at Blue Heron Mine-18, Brewster Bridge, Station Camp and Peters Bridge, all of which were severely damaged during flooding in March 2021 that arose after 8 inches of rain fell in and around Big South Fork. The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River reached 41 feet at Leatherwood Ford; three days prior it was at 7 feet.

The second-highest flow of the river since rain gauges were installed in the park in 1984 occurred just a year earlier in 2020 when the river hit 39 feet.

The park also experienced flooding in 2024, during which a man perished after he fell in a park waterway. Severe storms also damaged or destroyed multiple Big South Fork facilities and blocked roads and trails for weeks.

Big South Fork includes nearly 250 miles of rivers and streams and is a destination park for water recreation, and rock climbing.

Wednesday, 18 December 2024 14:21

Learn about using your forest as a carbon sink

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KNOXVILLE — The next installment of Conservation on Tap is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Albright Grove Brewing Company, 2924 Sutherland Ave., Knoxville.

Join forester Sean Bowers to learn about the Family Forest Carbon Program, a partnership between the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. The program allows owners of small tracts of forest access to carbon markets, empowering them to improve the health and wellbeing of their forests and help tackle climate change.

All proceeds from Conservation on Tap benefit Discover Life in America.

foothills map

Conservation groups have cautioned against the zombie roadway between Wears Valley and Gatlinburg; EIS-level study uncertain

This story will be updated.

The National Park Service (NPS) said Dec. 9 it “will conduct additional design work and technical studies for Foothills Parkway Section 8D. This decision was based on feedback from subject matter experts and public comments received during a 30-day public comment period that ended Aug. 21.
“The NPS will reinitiate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and inform the public of opportunities for future public engagement once this additional work is completed. A schedule for completing the additional work has not yet been established,” according to a release from NPS public affairs specialist Dave Barak.
 
Conservation groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association, say the road would further fragment forest habitat and present unacceptable water-quality hazards.
 
The NEPA offers a range of alternatives, however, and it was not immediately known whether the park service would again embark on a more detailed environmental impact statement (EIS) or proceed with a relatively cursory environmental assessment.
 
A draft of the previous EIS process for this parkway project were completed decades ago, as reported by Hellbender Press.
 
The federal government last year opened the latest round of public comment on the project, which would traverse Buckeye Knob and Cove Mountain and multiple aquatic and karst environments.

 

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. 

hellbenderpromoFounded in 1998, Hellbender Press was a bi-monthly free newspaper distributed throughout the Southern Appalachian and Upper Tennessee Valley bioregion. It ceased publication when most local advertising was captured by the internet and going quarterly didn’t help scrape up the cost of printing. Reincarnated 2020 as an online publication with a full-time editor thanks to a major startup grant, continuation of Hellbender Press now depends on contributions from its readership again.
 

KNOXVILLE — The great floods of 2024, spurred by an ocean warmed by climate change, wrought unspeakable damage on the Southern Appalachians. As a 25-year champion of the environment and culture of our bioregion, our flood coverage cut close to the local quick.

Hellbender Press covered this unprecedented human and natural disaster sway for sway and stride for stride with the big dogs of news media. 

We discovered our role as not only chronicler and collector of crucial environmental information but a nimble and sprightly hard news outlet.

These efforts do not come cheaply. Our well-received and deservedly deep coverage also ate deeply into our freelance budget. We help feed talented writers, but are reliant on grants and small-dollar donors like you! Donations to Hellbender Press are tax-deductible when given in the name of the Foundation for Global Sustainability, a 501(c)(3) Public Charity.

Our efforts matter more than ever, and we humbly ask for your help as we move toward our fourth year of the digital-only Hellbender Press. Help us protect our mountains with good journalism, and help us leave no story untold.

Please donate now.

Published in News, Action Alert

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KNOXVILLE — Learn how we can make cities safer for birds during this month’s Conservation on Tap at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Albright Brewing Company, 2924 Sutherland Ave., Knoxville.

Across North America, bird populations have declined by 2.9 billion since 1970. Cities, however, can play a vital role in reversing this trend by creating safer, healthier environments for birds. Learn about a Nature Conservancy partner program that is reducing urban hazards and engaging the community in helping out our feathered friends.

All proceeds from the event benefit Discover Life in America.

Published in Event Archive
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