Smoky Mountain News Briefs

Smoky Mountain News Briefs

Monday, December 29, 2008

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I received my copy of the winter issue of "Smokies Guide" the other day. There are a couple of news items and upcoming events I thought that you might be interested in.

Bear Tips Park Dumpsters

As many of you already know, this has been a highly active year for aggressive bears in the Smoky Mountains. Several campsites and shelters were closed for several weeks at a time during the summer and fall. Several hiking trails had aggressive bear activity warnings posted on them as well. At one point, bears dared to enter public restrooms in popular picnic areas.

One bear even learned how to tip over and break into “bear-proof” dumpsters at one of the picnic areas on the Tennessee side of the park! Park Service staff were forced to employ chains and posts to secure the dumpsters in order to thwart the bears. In the end, however, the Park Service had to live-trap and relocate five bears to a different area of the park.

Biologists can't explain the unusual bear behavior since there appeared to be plenty of natural food available during most of the year.

Emergency Stabilization at Elkmont

National Park crews completed emergency stabilization of 18 historic summer cabins and the Appalachian Clubhouse in the Elkmont area this past fall. The park hopes to fully restore all 19 structures so they can be viewed by the public. At this time there is no indication when this will be completed.

Park Adds New Vegetation Crew

The vegetation management team in the Smokies was rewarded with special funding to hire an additional team to fight invasive plants. The crew will focus efforts on the North Carolina side of the park. They will be in charge of helping to eradicate non-native plants like kudzu, English ivy, Oriental bittersweet and privet over the next three years. They will also be helping to save the eastern hemlocks on the NC side as well.

Wilderness Wildlife Week

Wilderness Wildlife Week will be held from January 10-17 in Pigeon Forge and in the Great Smoky Mountains. The free event includes a variety of hikes, field trips, workshops and demonstrations related to the natural and cultural heritage of the Smoky Mountains. For more information, visit http://www.mypigeonforge.com/ or call 865-429-7350.

The Photographs of George Masa

Mapping the Mountains: The Photographs of George Masa. This is an exhibit examining the photography of George Masa at the Asheville Art Museum from February 6 - June 7. Masa was known as "the Ansel Adams of the East". Many of his photographs were used to promote the idea of preserving the Smokies as a national park. For more information, visit http://www.ashevilleart.org/ or call 828-253-3227.

Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Smokies elk population continues to grow

Smokies elk population continues to grow

Friday, September 12, 2008

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I just received my copy of the fall issue of the Smokies Guide in the mail yesterday. One of the lead stories was a report on the elk population in the park. The article stated that the elk population has grown to 95, and the animals have spread from the Cataloochee Valley. There are now reports of individuals or groups of elk in Oconaluftee, Cosby, Balsam Mountain, White Oak, the Cherokee Indian Reservation and up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Elk were reintroduced to the park in February of 2001. Originally, 25 were transplanted to the Cataloochee Valley from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Another 27 were added in 2002 from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada.

The program was originally set-up as a five year experiment to ensure that elk could survive in the area on their own. Because the elk population failed to grow during the original five-year period, the experiment was extended another three years. Researchers didn’t have enough data on elk movements, mortality and human interaction to support a long-term decision at that point.

The extended experiment will expire later this year. At that time, the University of Tennessee will provide the park with research information to help determine whether the experiment failed or succeeded. Ultimately, this will decide whether the elk stay or go.

However, at a public meeting earlier in the year, Great Smoky Mountain National Park Wildlife Manager Joe Yarkovich said "I will say unofficially that it's a success. We're looking pretty good. We've finally got the number of animals we wanted. We’ve got a ton of public support. Calves are hitting the ground and surviving. We're in pretty good shape for the future."

Keeping elk in the park is important on many levels. Not only are they a draw for visitors, but they help to complete the natural ecosystem in the Smoky Mountains.

There was one other piece of news that I thought was pretty interesting. Over the next couple of years, the Cades Cove Loop Road will be repaved. The article didn’t give a specific timeframe, but this is great news. This will make bicycling on road bikes much more enjoyable.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

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