Displaying items by tag: eastern band of cherokee indians
Ela dam removal proceeds to make a river run through
Ela Dam on the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee. The dam is slated for removal to benefit aquatic species and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Erin McCombs
Ela Dam Removal Coalition moving forward after $4 million grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to commence river restoration project
Erin McCombs is the Southeast Conservation Director of American Rivers.
CHEROKEE — American Rivers is working with a team on a massive effort to remove the Ela dam and restore the land and Oconaluftee River to its natural condition. Partnering with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), American Rivers is part of a coalition of federal, state, public, private, and non-profit organizations that has formed to remove the Ela dam.
Truly a village effort, the Ela Dam Coalition includes the EBCI, American Rivers, Mainspring Conservation Trust, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Environmental Protection Agency, American Whitewater, Swain County, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Northbrook Carolina Hydro II.
“Healthy rivers are essential to all life, and removing a dam is the fastest way to restore a river’s health. We appreciate this initial investment by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the restoration of the Oconaluftee River. We look forward to working with them to leverage this investment to fully realize this project to revitalize fish and wildlife habitat and restore vital cultural connections. We are grateful to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for their leadership, and for the partnership of Mainspring Conservation Trust,” said Tom Kiernan, American Rivers President and CEO.
Blocking the Oconaluftee River’s natural flow impacts the aquatic habitats of many native fish, mussels, birds, and other wildlife which require it for sheltering, feeding, reproducing, and thriving in their natural environment. The removal of Ela dam will result in a cultural reconnection of the Oconaluftee River to the Cherokee people and the Qualla Boundary.
The Oconaluftee River is home to 11 sensitive and rare aquatic species, some of which are only found in a few streams and rivers in western North Carolina, including the federally endangered Appalachian elktoe freshwater mussel, the Sicklefin Redhorse (NC Threatened), and Eastern Hellbender (NC Special Concern). Once complete, 549 miles of the Oconaluftee River watershed will be restored and expand habitat for these species.
- american rivers
- ela dam
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- ela dam coalition
- mainspring conservation trust
- north carolina wildlife resources commission
- us fish and wildlife service
- southern environmental law center
- oconaluftee river
- joey owle
- environmental protection agency
- american whitewater
- swain county
- army corps of engineers
- northbrook carolina hydro ii
- bryson city
- sicklefin redhorse
- eastern hellbender
- appalachian elktoe
Appalachian trout in trouble as temps rise, storms rage
Michael Bradley, a fly-fishing guide, on Raven Fork in the Oconaluftee area of the Great Smoky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Climate change could steal your fish
Dan Chapman is a public affairs specialist for the Southeast Region of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
CHEROKEE — The mountains of the Southern Appalachians were scraped clean a century ago. Headwater ecology changed as the canopy of trees disappeared that was shading the streams from all but the noonday sun. Rainstorms pushed dirt and rocks into the water muddying the feeding and breeding grounds of fish, amphibians and insects.
Lower down the mountain, newly cut pastures edged right up to the creeks while cows mucked up the once-pristine waters. Invasive bugs killed hemlocks, ash and other shade-giving trees. Pipes, culverts and dams blockaded streams and kept animals from cooler water.
The trout never had a chance.
Now they face an even more insidious foe — climate change.
- doug reed
- chattahoochee national forest
- trout season
- trout unlimited
- nc institute for climate science
- mike lavoie
- wild brook trout
- fly fishing team
- oconaluftee river
- raven fork
- ela dam
- toccoa river
- trout fishing in the southern appalachians
- dan chapman
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- eastern brook trout
- trout fishing
- qualla boundary
- brown trout
- rainbow trout
- north carolina state university
- chattahoochee river
- rough branch
- dissolved oxygen
- climate change
- headwater
- fish biodiversity
- fish stock
- fishing
- fish hatchery
- drought
- hemlock woolly adelgid
- sedimentation
- coldwater fishery
- fish disease
For the win: The storied snail darter swims back from the brink
The snail darter, which caused an epic battle around TVA plans to dam the Tellico River in the 1970s, was recently removed from the Endangered Species List. Jeremy Monroe/Tennessee Aquarium
The little fish that caused a maelstrom over a TVA dam project gets the last laugh
TELLICO — In a win for endangered species protected by federal law, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week the fabled snail darter’s recovery and removal from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife.
Native to the Tennessee River watershed in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, the fish has long been an Endangered Species Act icon thanks to conservation efforts to save its habitat starting in the 1970s, when the Tennessee Valley Authority proposed construction of a dam on the Little Tennessee River. The snail darter (Percina tanasi) was central in the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, which solidified the scope of the then recently passed ESA.
- snail darter
- endangered species
- endangered species act
- tellico dam
- southern environmental law center
- snail darter removed from endangered species list
- tva vs hill
- little tennessee river
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- ramona mcgee
- george nolan
- tennessee valley authority v hill
- habitat conservation
- us supreme court
- percina tanasi
- threatened species
Has the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians lost its ‘right way’ at Exit 407?
Cherokee tribal council member, historian and ethnographer Will West Long holds a traditional Cherokee mask, which he often recreated. He was an active chronicler of Cherokee custom, heritage and tradition and died in 1947 on the Qualla Reservation in Swain County, North Carolina. WikiCommons
As plans gel for massive new developments, has the Eastern Band lost its ancient way?
SEVIERVILLE — The Tennessee Department of Transportation is eyeing a second interchange for exit 407 at Highway 66 along Interstate I-40 in Sevier County.
Exit 407, already one of the most congested interchanges in Southern Appalachia, accesses the main highway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the nation. The park reported a record 14 million visitors in 2021.
The exit also serves crowds flocking to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
But the new interchange would primarily serve a 200-acre development to be called Exit 407: The Gateway to Adventure.
Scheduled to open spring 2023, and fully operational in 2024, it’s expected to attract 6.7 million people annually. The first phase includes a theme park and a 74,000-square-foot convenience store with 120 gas pumps, making it the world’s largest such store.
- exit 407
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- cherokee
- buc'ees
- world's largest convenience store
- cherokee, nc
- qualla boundary
- theme park at exit 407
- cherokee 'the right way'
- great smoky mountains national park
- great smokies visitation
- sevier county
- swain county
- cherokee casino
- when will buc'ees open in sevier county
- buc'ees beef jerky
- trail of tears
- pigeon forge
- gatlinburg, tn
- traffic in smokies
- traffic in sevier county
- will west long
- cherokee tradition
- cherokee heritage
- what was cherokee's connection to the environment
- rick vaughan
- hellbender press cherokee
- i40 exit for smoky mountain
- did cherokee hunt mastodon?
Oak Ridge National Laboratory land is an international treasure of biodiversity
Aquatic ecologist Natalie Griffiths studies nutrients and contaminants in the Weber Branch watershed, which is in the Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park. Courtesy Carlos Jones/ORNL
ORNL research lands are an international ecological benchmark and diverse wonderland of trees, plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
Abby Bower is a science writer for Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a hub for world-class science. The nearly 33,000-acre space surrounding the lab is less known, but also unique. The Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) is a key hotspot for biodiversity in the Southeast and is home to more than 1,500 species of plants and animals.
At the intersection of Anderson and Roane counties is an important subset of the reservation — the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, or NERP — a 20,000-acre ORNL research facility that has been internationally recognized by UNESCO as an official biosphere reserve unit.
“The National Environmental Research Park is a living laboratory and a major resource for conducting ecological studies,” said Evin Carter, an ORNL wildlife ecologist and director of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program, or SAMAB. The NERP has been a core part of SAMAB, which has focused on sustainable economic development and conserving biodiversity in Southern Appalachia since 1989.
With ORNL researchers and scientists from government agencies and academia using the NERP for diverse experiments each year, the park lives up to its status as a living laboratory.
It also lives up to its reputation as a biodiversity hotspot. As one of seven DOE-established environmental research parks reflecting North America’s major ecoregions, it represents the Eastern Deciduous Forest. The NERP comprises parts of this ecoregion that have been identified repeatedly as priorities for global biodiversity conservation, Carter said.
This designation means more than ever as climate change alters ecosystems and biodiversity declines worldwide. According to a landmark international report, on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, around one million plant and animal species are currently threatened with extinction.
- oak ridge national laboratory
- ornl
- ecological benchmark
- oak ridge national environmental research park
- nerp
- biosphere reserve
- southern appalachian man and the biosphere
- samab
- biodiversity
- unesco
- oak ridge reservation
- orr
- ecoregion
- culturally significant plant species initiative
- cspsi
- evin carter
- kitty mccracken
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- neon
- national ecological observatory network
- northern longeared bat
- indiana bat
- grey bat
- endangered species
- threatened species
- purple gallinule
Natural 911: Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad whisks threatened plants to safety
Joy Grissom (left) and Gerry Moll pose for a photograph with their collection of rescued native plants at Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Photos by Anna Lawrence/Hellbender Press
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll: Preserving East Tennessee’s natural heritage with shovels and wheelbarrows
If there’s a massive ecological disturbance in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?
The Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad, of course.
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll spent the past six years identifying, digging, hauling and muscling native East Tennessee plants to salvation from construction, grading and logging sites.
The duo has saved thousands of plants and their communities from certain demise. They have plucked plants to safety from areas ranging from a 170-acre logging operation in Cocke County to relatively small commercial developments in Knox County.
- knoxville native plant rescue squad
- ecology
- habitat
- garden
- plant rescue
- tree rescue
- planting
- knoxville botanical garden and arboretum
- preservation
- east tennessee
- natural heritage
- knox county
- developer
- land owner
- contractor
- forever home
- farmers market
- salvage
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- knox county schools