Displaying items by tag: elan young journalist
Mountain monarchs inspired Wanda DeWaard’s legacy of citizen science
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.
- monarch butterflies
- smokies monarchs
- wanda dewaard
- monarch tagging program
- eastern north american monarch butterflies
- monarchs in mexico
- oyumel firs
- great smoky mountains institute at tremont
- tremont butterflies
- tremont tagging
- tremont butterfly tagging
- elan young journalist
- register for monarch tagging
- citizen science
- monarch watch
- milkweed
- milkweed toxic to birds
- monarch conservation
Little River dam-removal project flowing forward, specific timeline TBA
Army Corps still committed to Little River dam removal for ecological and safety reasons, but timeline uncertain
TOWNSEND — The remainders of two low-head dams on the Little River in Blount County, Rockford Dam and Peery’s Mill Dam, are slated for removal by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) following the release in July 2023 of a Project Report and Environmental Assessment that investigated the lower 32 miles of the Little River.
The Corps confirmed this week that plans are moving ahead to remove the two dams.
Peery’s Mill Dam was the site of 4 separate drownings in the last 15 years, giving it the notorious reputation as the deadliest dam in Tennessee in the past quarter century. Late last month, three women had to be rescued from the churning waters there, prompting questions from the community about the status of the Corps’ removal effort.
Little River Watershed Association president Andrew Gunnoe says that watershed advocates are eager for the dam removal project to move forward because doing so would provide both ecological and community benefits.
- peery’s mill
- peery’s mill dam
- little river dams
- little river aqautic life
- little river diversity threat
- little river fatality
- us army corps of engineers
- elan young
- little river
- peery’s mill dam rescues
- why are dams bad for the environment
- rockford dam
- blounty county commission
- dangers of lowhead dams
- elan young journalist
Will Little River run wild and free again?
Army Corps of Engineers studies Little River for potential dam removal
TOWNSEND — In February the Army Corps of Engineers announced a study to evaluate potential effects of proposed removal or modification of three dams on the Little River. These dams include the Townsend Dam, Peery’s Mill, and Rockford. The announcement sparked a public furor in Blount County over potential impact that dam removal might have on the Little River and adjoining communities.
The results of the Army Corps’ study are not expected until June or July. Despite not knowing the study’s findings — which may include recommendations of full or partial removal of individual dams, or no action at all — the Blount County Commission unanimously passed a resolution in April calling for the preservation of all three dams. The resolution was sponsored by 14 of the 21 commissioners (it takes 11 votes to pass a resolution).
- little river
- elan young journalist
- elan young
- andrew gunnoe
- little river diversity threat
- little river endangered fish
- little river watershed association
- walland dam
- rockford dam
- army corps of engineers
- blount county commission
- blount county dam
- blount county little river
- blount county soil conservation district
- low head dam
- dam removal
- dam obstructions
- removing dam
- wild river
- hellbender press
- hellbender press little river
Urban sprawl is eating up valuable Tennessee farms and woods and people are fighting back
Got sprawl? It’s past time to help young farmers access land
I’m not a farmer, I’m a hiker. I live in a shady mountain gap and can’t grow a fully ripe tomato in the summer — not to mention that the half-acre parcel of land that I call home includes a significant portion of river bed. But as a 20-year resident of rural Blount County, a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I’ve watched the steady disappearance of farms over time, and I have wondered what can be done.
This is why I rose at 4 a.m. for a trip to Nashville, planning to arrive before my alarm would normally sound. It will be my first time lobbying the state legislature and my first time meeting in person with the organizers of the Southeast Tennessee chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition — known as “Young Farmers” — who I’ve been Zooming with for the better part of the year. We are all headed to Ag Day on the Hill to advocate for young and beginning farmers and the preservation of farmland for future generations.
- farm
- farmland consercation
- urban sprawl in blount county
- blount county
- farm bill
- national young farmers
- young farmers coaltion
- farm inheritance
- american farmland trust
- ag day in nashville
- loss of farmland
- losing farmland to development
- developer vs conservationist
- consequence of development
- citizens against the pellissippi parkway extension
- citizens for sustainable growth
- elan young journalist
- cappe
- tennessee farmland loss ranking
- blue goose winery