Tag Archives: nature

Tennessee State Parks will offer free, guided hikes at all 56 of its parks on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 the day after Thanksgiving. This is the second year for this event, and one in a series of five statewide hikes throughout the year. “The After Thanksgiving Hikes are a perfect way to spend time with family and friends,” said TDEC ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park welcomed 1,370,640 visitors in October 2015, exceeding 2014’s mark of 1,303,640. This year’s visitation makes 2015 the second highest October visitation in the park’s history. Only October 1987 saw more visitors. October is traditionally the second busiest month of the year for the national park, driven by visitors coming to see the park’s fall foliage. ...

The Smoky Mountain Opry™ Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. is getting ready for a big fundraising event benefiting the non-profit American Eagle Foundation (AEF), which will showcase an extravaganza of entertainment. On Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 8 p.m., Christmas at the Smoky Mountain Opry will host a special benefit show featuring renowned American Idol season 14 runner-up Clark Beckham, ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash was presented with a $19,000 gift from the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited as part of their continuing efforts to support the park’s fisheries program. The donation included two checks in the amount of $15,000 and another for $4,000 raised by the Little River Chapter at the 2015 Troutfest Banquet. The ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host several events for Bat Week, Oct. 25 – 31, 2015 to highlight the important role bats play in our ecosystem. Park rangers invite the public to visit bat information stations at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in North Carolina and Sugarlands Visitor Center in Tennessee from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. Bats ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologists remind the public to allow bears to forage undisturbed on natural foods during this critical feeding period before winter hibernation. Bears depend on fall foods such as acorns and grapes to store fat reserves that enable them to survive winter. This year, these foods in the park are extremely rare leading bears to ...

Visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is up 5.5 percent through September 2015. Over 8 million visitors have come to the park so far this year. The increase has led to record months of visitation in both May and September with visitation surpassing 1 million visitors during each month. In September, the park welcomed 1,081,773 visitors, the most ever ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park fire management officials are planning a series of controlled burns within the Cades Cove and Cataloochee areas of the park. Weather permitting, burn operations could begin as early as Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 and may continue intermittently through mid-November. Prescribed Burns in Cades Cove Fire managers have identified multiple fields totaling approximately 300 acres for ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials invite the public to a special birds of prey program presented by Doris Mager on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 at 10 a.m. The program will be on the porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Known as “The Eagle Lady”, Ms. Mager has been working with raptors for over 35 years. She has cared for ...

Recognizing its incredible diversity of stream life and years of efforts to conserve that diversity, the Little Tennessee River basin has been designated the nation’s first Native Fish Conservation Area. “The Native Fish Conservation Area designation reflects an integrated and cooperative approach to stream conservation,” said Trout Unlimited’s Damon Hearne. “We’re recognizing the importance of these streams to the region’s ...