Environment

Emily Huffstetler, a high school senior, is on a mission to save the dwindling bee population by building bee houses and holding workshops in her community. Five years ago, Emily’s family built a Mason Bee house, which started her on a journey of educating herself and others about the species. Mason bees are unique in that they are solitary, do ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its non-profit partner, Discover Life in America (DLIA), recently celebrated the 20th year of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) with the announcement of a major milestone of the project – 1,000 new species to science! Over the last 20 years, many species have been documented in the park for the first time, but ...

Beginning this Sunday, bear experts from all over the world will be meeting for the 5th International Human-Bear Conflicts Workshop at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg. Bear specialists from Asia, the Middle East and South America will join their colleagues from the U.S. and Canada to discuss strategies on dealing with human-bear conflicts. Beginning in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the completion of a solar energy project at Cades Cove that will annually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23 tons and reduce fuel costs by $14,000. Formerly, the park used a diesel-fuel generator for power at the site, which often caused noise disruptions to park programs and the visitor experience to the historic ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers are recruiting volunteers to adopt a monitoring plot in areas throughout the park. In an effort to track nature’s calendar, or phenology, volunteers will collect information as part of an important research project tracking seasonal biological data such as plant flowering dates and the presence of migratory birds. Previous experience is not necessary but ...

Oak decline is a slow-acting disease complex that involves the interaction of several factors such as climate, site quality, and advancing tree age. No single cause is responsible for the decline. Trees that are greater than 70 years of age and that occur on drier sites such as shallow, rocky soils on ridgetops and south- to west-facing upper slopes are ...

The annual City Arbor Day Celebration is scheduled for Friday and will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Middle Creek Greenway and presentation of the City’s Tree City USA Award. The event will begin at 11 a.m. on May 19, 2017 at Burchfiel Wayside, located at Veterans Blvd. and Middle Creek Road. This will be the 33rd consecutive ...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is assisting wildlife biologists at Tennessee State University in research to determine the distribution of pygmy rattlesnakes in Tennessee. The pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) is listed as a threatened species in Tennessee and the research will help in conservation efforts to preserve the species in the state. Native to Tennessee, pygmy rattlesnakes are predators that ...

The Pigeon Forge attraction Alcatraz East will host a new temporary exhibit focused on illegal wildlife trafficking. When a Minnesota-based dentist paid $54,000 to trophy hunt in Zimbabwe in 2015 with a professional guide, he unknowingly was about to kill the beloved and iconic lion – Cecil. The images from that hunt went viral and although the dentist’s actions were ...

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is celebrating the birth of its 3rd and 4th African Black-Footed Baby Penguin on World Penguin Day, Tuesday, April 25, 2017. “The new baby brother penguins are Benny Hill born on February 17 weighing in at 52 grams and Falkor born on February 21 weighing in at 62 grams. The proud parents are Maggie and ...