Displaying items by tag: great smokies
Feds to restart “technical and design work” for Foothills Parkway extension
Conservation groups have cautioned against the zombie roadway between Wears Valley and Gatlinburg; EIS-level study uncertain
This story will be updated.
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.
Rangers probe suspected arson in Great Smokies
GATLINBURG — The National Park Service is investigating a possible arson fire off Laurel Creek Road near Crib Gap Trail. The fire was extinguished, but as part of the investigation, rangers are requesting the public’s help to find anyone who was in the area of Crib Gap Trail, Anthony Creek Trail or Lead Cove Trail Feb. 6 at about 6 p.m.
If you have information about vehicles or suspicious activity in the area around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, please submit a tip. You don’t have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know. Rangers also ask that the person who originally reported the fire calls the number below as soon as possible.
CALL: 888-653-0009 or 865-436-1230
— National Park Service
Hellbent: Little River Watershed Association swims upstream to protect one of Earth’s great rivers
![Andrew Gunnoe, President of Little River Watershed Association]()
Andrew Gunnoe is seen in the rain on Little River in Blount County, Tennessee. He is board director for Little River Watershed Association. Courtesy LRWA
Andrew Gunnoe helms spirited efforts to preserve beloved Little River but the current is swift
MARYVILLE — For 25 years, the handful of men and women involved with the nonprofit Little River Watershed Association (LRWA) have been protecting the crystal clear waters as they plummet from the Great Smoky Mountains before meandering through Blount County and merging with the Tennessee River.
“We see ourselves as the voice of the Little River, speaking for the river and its health,” said Andrew Gunnoe, president of the LRWA Board of Directors.
From the famous swimming hole at the Wye to the profusion of inner tube rental companies in Townsend, the Little River is one of the region’s most popular spots for water recreation. Further downstream, the waterway becomes an almost perfect spot for fishing, canoeing and kayaking.
For all the popularity as a recreation stop, the 59-mile stretch of water is also a vital habitat for numerous aquatic species and provides the 120,000-plus residents of Blount County with drinking water.
- little river diversity threat
- little river
- little river aqautic life
- little river watershed association
- preserving water quality
- maryville, tennessee
- townsend
- great smokies
- little river national park
- conservation fisheries
- biodiversity
- blount county
- tennessee valley authority
- escherichia coli
- tva
- e coli
- stream school
- university of tennessee environmental studies and sustainability
- sediment pollution
- water quality monitoring
Wither wisteria: ‘People care about our land’
Anne Child removes invasive exotic plants during a recent Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning event to mark National Public Lands Day at TVA’s Worthington Cemetery in Oak Ridge. Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press
Citizens pay it back on Public Lands Day in Oak Ridge, Smokies and beyond
OAK RIDGE — Rain drizzled as volunteers dug and clipped plants in woods around an old cemetery turned science lab.
It was a Public Lands Day event at Tennessee Valley Authority Worthington Cemetery Ecological Study area in Oak Ridge near Melton Hill Lake. Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, an environmental organization based in Oak Ridge, led the Sept. 24 work party in support of American public lands.
Other events were held throughout the country to mark the date (including Great Smoky Mountains National Park), which has proven itself to be the most productive day of the year for citizen sweat equity in public lands.