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• Public Lands Day looking for volunteers
  in Feedbag
  By Thomas Fraser

  Big South Fork celebrates National Public Lands Day Saturday, September 23 with a Volunteer Trails Event

  Oneida, Tennessee - Take part in the National Public Lands Day celebration at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on Saturday, September 23, 2023.  

  On this day, the park is looking for volunteers to help build out the last section of the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail. Interested volunteers should meet at the R.M. Brooks General Store (2830 Rugby Parkway, Robbins, Tennessee 37852) on Saturday the 23rd at 8:30 am ET. Please wear long pants and sturdy footwear.

  Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, National Public Lands Day celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits. More information can be found online at https://www.neefusa.org/npld.

  To find out more about Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, visit the website www.nps.gov/biso or call 423-569-9778.

• Sandra Goss: Fly your flag for land and water
  in News
  By Ben Pounds

  Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Executive Director Sandra Goss is nearing retirement after decades of tending to the environmental issues facing East Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau.At cusp of retirement, Sandra Goss reflects on what she and others have saved

  This is the latest installment of an occasional series, Hellbent, profiling citizens who work to preserve and improve the Southern Appalachian environment.

  OAK RIDGE — I can see the view of Lilly Bluff Overlook at Obed Wild and Scenic River in my mind. The trees are bare save some evergreens. The stream I love to splash around in during warmer times is flowing between the slopes. 

  I can see the cliff face in the distance. It would be a great place to interview Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP) Executive Director Sandra Goss; after all she and her organization helped preserve the area. It’s also near the places she grew up. She cited the experiences as inspiring her conservation ethic.

  Earlier this winter, the Christmas tree in Oak Ridge’s Jackson Square was on its side due to icy gusts and I’ve called off meeting with Goss in person at Panera to avoid torturing her or me with the elements. We could hike, but not stand around.

  I’ve seen her at TCWP Christmas parties in Oak Ridge and on hikes though, so just like Lilly Bluff, I can imagine her silver-white hair, smile and glasses as I speak to her by phone. I hear her accent, more Southern Appalachian than the Yankee-ish Oak Ridge accent I speak, nodding to her origin in Crossville.

  Goss is retiring Aug. 31, and she’s looking back on her work and forward to the break.

• Celebrate the wild ties that bind Americans on Public Lands Day 2022 — Saturday, Sept. 24
  in Earth
  By Thomas Fraser

  GATLINBURG — The director of the National Park Service is expected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday to celebrate National Public Lands Day.

  Director Chuck Sams plans to make some remarks in appreciation for the volunteers who help backstop national park maintenance costs before citizens fan out for various tasks across the park. Sams is the first Native American to head the park service, and he will be joined by Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Chief Richard G. Sneed.

• Hunters are invited to go whole hog on the Tennessee side of Big South Fork
  in Earth
  By Thomas Fraser

  Wild hogs are seen rooting in a sensitive area. Hog season opens later this month in Big South Fork.  National Park Service

  ONEIDA — Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area this week announced regulations for those wanting to kill invasive wild hogs during the 2022 fall and winter seasons.

  Most hog populations within the protected areas of BSF are believed to be present on the Tennessee side of the park, which spans the Kentucky border. Feral hogs have been present in East Tennessee for generations. They destroy local flora and fauna mainly by rooting in low-lying mountain and valley areas. They are especially fond of salamanders, many species of which are in grave decline. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hunters are regularly deployed to cull hogs throughout the park.

  “The wild hog is an invasive exotic species that has a significant negative impact to 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,” according to a release from the park service. 

• Climbers can clean their crags during Obed event
  in Feedbag
  By Thomas Fraser

  Volunteers are needed to improve and maintain climbing and approach areas at the Obed.  National Park Service

  WARTBURG — The Obed Wild and Scenic River will host the park’s annual Adopt-a-Crag event on Saturday, Sept. 11 in cooperation with the East Tennessee Climbers Coalition.

  Volunteers are needed to help with a variety of projects, including general trail maintenance and litter pickup. Participants should meet at the Lilly Pad Hopyard Brewery at 9 a.m. to register and receive a project assignment. Carpooling is suggested, and volunteers should bring their own lunch, water, hand tools and gloves.

  When the work is done, volunteers are invited to spend the day climbing, kayaking or hiking. The ETCC plans a volunteer appreciation dinner that evening at the Lilly Pad.

  For more information, contact the Obed Wild and Scenic River at (423) 346-6294.

• It’s Sirius: Light pollution blots out the night sky but pockets of true darkness remain
  in News
  By Rick Vaughan

  The Southeast is seen at night from the International Space Station. NASA

  Dark Sky parks, including some in East Tennessee, offer true views of heaven

  “Look up at the sky. There is a light, a beauty up there, that no shadow can touch.”  J. R. R. Tolkien  

  WARTBURG — Those who came before us read the night sky like we read maps today.  

  In ancient times, pointing to the stars, they imagined creatures, mythological heroes and common every-day objects. Because of their fixed positions, the constellations became a foolproof way to navigate across vast, featureless deserts and expansive seas. The stars marked the changing seasons and the passage of time. The star patterns were memorized and taught to each new generation.

• Big South Fork closes 60-acre donut hole
  in News
  By Thomas Fraser

  National Park Service

  Land conservancy and estate of long-ago German immigrant expands protection of North White Oak Creek

  Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area has grown inward by 60 acres.

  The National Park Service announced this week that it officially acquired the donated acreage along North White Oak Creek within Big South Fork. It had previously been in private ownership.

  The Allardt Land Company and the estate of Bruno Gernt (a remarkable individual in his own right) originally donated the approximately 60 acres within the boundaries of Big South Fork to TennGreen Land Conservancy. In December 2021, TennGreen transferred the property to the National Park Service.

  “This tract provides essential protection for the south side of North White Oak Creek, a popular area in the southwest portion of the (125,000-acre park that straddles the Tennessee and Kentucky state lines in the Cumberlands).

  “Park visitors will now forever be able to enjoy peaceful views across the creek of an oak-hickory and northern hardwood forest canopy,” Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas said in a press release.

  “We truly appreciate the Allardt Land Company, Estate of Bruno Gernt, and TennGreen for their generosity.”

• Big South Fork seeking information on vehicles dumped in Blue Hole
  in Feedbag
  By Thomas Fraser

  The National Park Service and officials with Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area are still looking for those responsible for dumping derelict vehicles in a remote part of the park known as Blue Hole.

  Park staff found two vehicles and a boat illegally discarded in a section of the park closed to traffic. The junk was discovered Aug. 26 and staff and rangers had to pulled from other projects to clean up the mess.

  Park staff recovered an abandoned vehicle, UTV, and boat from the Blue Hole section of the park that appeared to have been dumped in separate incidents.

  “The resulting cleanup pulled staff away from planned trail work and public safety duties. Additionally, illegally dumping trash and other items create a negative visitor experience for those hoping to enjoy the serene natural beauty of Big South Fork NRRA,” said Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas in a press release.

  “Visitors are reminded that abandoning property in the park is prohibited by federal law.”

  Anyone with information concerning these incidents is encouraged to contact the NPS at 423-223-4489 or leave a confidential message on the Resource Protection Tip Line at 423-569-7301.

  The 24-hour tip line allows callers to remain anonymous.

• Despite Covid slowdowns and shutdowns, Smokies draws $1B in 2020 revenue to neighboring communities
  in Earth
  By Thomas Fraser

  A Knoxville man tries his hand at fly fishing in Abrams Creek during a family camping trip on the southwestern side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

  Green begets green in Smokies region; Big South Fork and Cumberland Gap also economic players

  Recent federal analysis of spending by national park visitors is a testament to the economic benefits of environmental protection, scientific study and outdoor recreation.

  The 12.1 million visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2020 spent $1.024 billion in neighboring communities in both Tennessee and North Carolina, according to a study released this week by the National Park Service. Similar, localized releases were distributed into national park communities across the country.

  Closer to home, that number represents the estimated visitor money spent in areas that include traditional “gateway” communities, such as Townsend and Gatlinburg, and Cherokee and Bryson City in North Carolina. Regionally, it’s at least a $5 million increase since 2012. Travel problems, housing and employee shortages, overdevelopment and environmental destruction are of course persistent in some of those areas.

• Saving America’s “Amazon” in Alabama
  in Voices
  By Tara Lohan

  Alabama is home to remarkably diverse ecosystems: They face dire threats.

  This story was originally published by The Revelator.

  When longtime environmental journalist Ben Raines started writing a book about the biodiversity in Alabama, the state had 354 fish species known to science. When he finished writing 10 years later, that number had jumped to 450 thanks to a bounty of new discoveries. Crawfish species leaped from 84 to 97 during the same time.

  It’s indicative of a larger trend: Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, but few people know it. And even scientists are still discovering the rich diversity of life that exists there, particularly in the Mobile River basin.

  All this newly discovered biodiversity is also gravely at risk from centuries of exploitation, which is what prompted Raines to write his new book, “Saving America’s Amazon.”