Word from the Smokies: I-40 rebuild offers rare opportunity for wildlife conservation
When the Safe Passage coalition started working in 2017 to make Interstate 40 a safer place for people and wildlife through the Pigeon River Gorge, nobody knew that, in a few short years, entire sections of the critical roadway would vanish in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Word from the Smokies: In the park, Cataloochee saw Helene’s worst
As Hurricane Helene fomented in the Caribbean, it seemed likely that Great Smoky Mountains National Park would take a direct hit. The storm reached Category 4 before slamming Florida’s Gulf Coast, then headed north toward the Smokies.
Word from the Smokies: Fall adventure supports research into park biodiversity
As days grow shorter in the Great Smoky Mountains, the colorful landscape hums with life. Creatures large and small scurry through the blanket of fallen leaves gathering nuts and berries, crafting intricate homes to wait out the winter, and preparing for the stillness of the season ahead.
Word from the Smokies: Dedicated Smokies volunteer force protects elk and people
At 3:30 p.m., traffic flows smoothly along U.S. 441 past the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The 80-some elk living in this area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park are still invisible beneath the forest canopy as the sun shines bright and warm.
Word from the Smokies: Park program welcomes people with disabilities into the backcountry
Growing up, Blount County native Carly Pearson considered time outdoors a way of life. When she wasn’t exploring the stunningly diverse landscape of nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she was giving it her all on the soccer field.
Word from the Smokies: Smokies cities make strides toward ensuring bear, human safety with new trash bins
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to an estimated 1,900 black bears — about two per square mile — with more than 14,500 of these iconic mammals roaming the four-state mountain region.
Word from the Smokies: DNA study yields new estimate of Smoky Mountain elk population
Over the decades since 52 elk were reintroduced to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Cataloochee Valley in 2001 and 2002, wildlife biologists have longed for a statistically accurate count of the population in Western North Carolina.
Word from the Smokies: Sochan gathering program grows relationship between tribe, park and plants
“There’s some legends and stories about this particular area, this place we’re at right now,” said Tommy Cabe, who is the forest resource specialist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a member of the Tribe, looking out over the vibrantly green forest floor surrounding a tiny stream that flows across Chimney Tops Trail.
Word From the Smokies: Fireflies are surprisingly diverse
For many people who grew up in the eastern United States, the soft yellow blink of fireflies drifting over dusky fields and lawns is synonymous with summer, a nostalgic symbol of warmth and childhood. But few would guess that the common eastern firefly (Photinus pyralis) is one of more than two thousand firefly species worldwide.
Word from the Smokies: Cicada emergence offers rare community science opportunity
During the summer of 2011, billions of cicada eggs hatched inside tree twigs across the Southeast. The hatchlings, called nymphs, dropped down and burrowed into the ground, where they’ve been sucking on tree roots ever since.
