August 2019
Happenings from
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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More out-of-place animals
Last month we reported two young bull elk had found their way to park headquarters near Gatlinburg, TN. This month we're ready to announce that an armadillo has been spotted on a wildlife camera near Newfound Gap, as reported by WBIR-TV.
Click on the image to learn more, then register the whole family for our kid-friendly
Misunderstood Wildlife event
on Saturday, August 17, in Sylva, NC.
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African American history project
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Open house events concerning the history of African Americans within and around the national park are planned:
- Thursday, August 1, at the Blount County Public Library in Maryville, TN
- Monday, August 5, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville, NC
Both events will be held from 6-7:30 p.m.
“The National Park Service is charged to preserve all the many voices of our past,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “In learning about our past, we open the doors to our future. We hope that even more people will see themselves included and connected to the Smokies through this effort.”
Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the history of African Americans in the park and to share their personal
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experiences or family stories. While African Americans have been in the Great Smoky Mountains since at least the early 19th century, knowledge of their presence is relatively low. The park is conducting this research – with funding from
Great Smoky Mountains Association – to better understand the untold history of the African American experience in Southern Appalachia.
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Look Rock Picnic Area reopens to visitors
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Park crews completed the first phase of a rehabilitation project at Look Rock Picnic Area
allowing the site to reopen Friday, July 26,
after being closed in 2013.
“We’re glad that people will once again have the opportunity to enjoy a picnic as part of their Foothills Parkway experience,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “Many people have told us how much they’ve missed this area over the years. They’ll be able to revisit those memories and make new ones from this unique setting in the western end of the park.”
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Concept to Customer
Heritage dolls crafted exclusively for GSMA
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By Sarah Shiver
GSMA Summer Intern
With a history as rich as Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s, small remnants of the past often become lost or forgotten. Inspired by a childhood memory, Great Smoky Mountains Association staffer and volunteer hike leader Charlene Shiver set about recreating a piece of her own past and revived a bit of park history in the process.
When Shiver heard that one of her coworkers at Great Smoky Mountains Association was expecting a baby, she decided to make a gift for the child, something she routinely does for friends and family with children on the way. In the past Shiver had sewn bibs and small blankets for children, but recent conversations with family members led her to draw inspiration from a childhood memory to create something new.
As a young girl, Shiver often spent summers with her grandmother in Virginia. With little to occupy her time in rural Appalachia, Shiver usually spent her days learning crafts from her grandmother, including sewing. Her grandmother Sarah Alice Viers was skilled at turning old garments into wonderful new creations. This was partially out of necessity: with a family of eight, Viers worked hard to provide her children with the things they needed. Viers had years of experience making shirts, socks, dresses and even toys for her family.
“I can remember her telling me about unraveling torn socks just to repurpose the thread and yarn they were made with,” Shiver said...
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Discover Life in America needs your help to find out more about the park’s wondrous diversity of life—and it couldn’t be easier! All you need is your smart device and some time to enjoy the outdoors in the Smokies.
DLiA manages the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a project seeking to identify every variety of plant, animal and other life form in the park. With the help of park visitors using the
iNaturalist app
, the organization is able to add new distribution maps to an interactive web application called Species Mapper.
“Species SnapIt & MapIt is a fun and simple way for park visitors to learn more about the biodiversity of the Smokies and help study the park at the same time,” said Dr. Will Kuhn, DLiA’s Director of Science and Research. “By showing where different species live across the park, we can help park management decide where their conservation efforts will have the greatest effect.”
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Orange-fringed orchid
(
Platanthera ciliaris
)—Need 12 more observations. This beautiful orchid blooms from July to September and can be found in dry woods such as those in Cades Cove. This one was spotted on Cove Mountain Trail near Gatlinburg.
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Science at Sugarlands
Mysterious grassy balds
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By Frances Figart
Creative Services Director
Mysterious and haunting, Southern Appalachian grassy balds have long fascinated scientists and hikers alike. How many balds are there in the Smokies? How did they evolve? How do they support rare plants? Can balds be found in other parts of the world?
These and many other questions will be answered—or at least discussed—on Friday, August 16, when NPS forester Jesse Webster presents a Science at Sugarlands program on the grassy balds of the Great Smoky Mountains entitled “Balds: Ecological Enigma and Conservation Dilemma.” The event begins at 1 p.m. at Sugarlands Visitor Center and is sponsored by Discover Life in America.
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Remnants of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago, balds are mountain summits that offered many benefits for both humans and animals. Research suggests they were once kept clear of vegetation by megafauna—grazing by early big animals like mastodons or wooly mammoth, and later bison, elk and deer...
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Creature Feature
Water bears
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Text and Artwork
By Emma DuFort
Design Assistant
Beneath the plodding steps of Great Smoky Mountain black bears, amongst the soil and leaf litter, lives a different kind of bear… the water bear!
More formally known as tardigrades, these microscopic organisms were first described in 1773 by a German zoologist. They’ve been found all over the world, from deep sea trenches to tropical rainforests to the Antarctic, but are often found on lichens and mosses.
Thought to be some of the most resilient creatures known to humans, tardigrades can withstand extreme heating and freezing, air depravation, starvation, and even the conditions of outer space. In 2002, a tardigrade species new to science was discovered right here in the Smokies, as part of the organization
Discover Life in America’s
efforts to document all species in the park.
Doryphoribius smokiensis
, dubbed the Smoky Mountain water bear, is similar to other tardigrades, with the exception of its wider mouth parts and absence of enlarged claw bases. Most tardigrades range from about 0.3mm to 1.2mm, making them large enough to see under a low-power microscope.
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Support Discover Life in America’s mission to uncover more species like this one. Purchase a DLiA Tee – artwork by Emma – by clicking below.
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Help us settle a bet: Are 'water bears' cute enough that you'd buy a stuffed animal version?
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Yes, just trim those gnarly nails, please.
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No, I like my children nightmare-free, thank you!
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By Logan Boldon
Quiz Master
The National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916. Celebrate its upcoming 103rd birthday by taking our National Park Service Anniversary Quiz! Test your knowledge of important people, principles and places that are part of "America's Best Idea."
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Congratulations to Susan Hood of Georgia for winning our Butterflies and Moths quiz and Sid Taylor of Florida for winning our Moonshine quiz!
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Little Sluice of Heaven
Hiking Hazel and Eagle in less than a week
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By Lisa Duff
Marketing and Membership Director
When Great Smoky Mountains Association volunteer hike guide Lloyd Shiver suggested we knock out two trails with significant creek crossings this summer, I thought, “Can’t ask for a better time to cool off in the Smokies than late June and July.” Add to that the fact boat rides would be required to cross Fontana Lake at the conclusion of each, I jumped at the chance to join in.
June 29:
The full length of Hazel Creek from Clingmans Dome. Considering the mileage involved – somewhere just north of 21 miles – I knew this trip would be the tougher of the two. Accessing Hazel Creek from the top required us to hike three other trails first: Clingmans Dome Bypass, a section of the Appalachian Trail and a small stretch of Welch Ridge Trail. Before taking our first step on Hazel Creek, we hiked just over six miles, enjoying views from some of the park’s highest elevations. Only 14.7 more miles to go!
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Editor's Note: We call our hiking column
Little Sluice of Heaven
in honor of Dry Sluice Gap: Named for a small hollow or valley called a sluice, which has a spring-fed stream that sinks beneath the surface for several hundred yards before re-emerging. Hence, the upper part of the sluice is generally dry.
-
From
Place Names of the Smokies
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NEW!
Single-day pass available through August 16
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Many of you asked, and we listened.
For those able to travel to the Smokies for one day only to attend Members Weekend, we are offering a single-day pass through August 16.
For $79 we invite you to register for Saturday's events, including the State of GSMA session by CEO Laurel Rematore, the State of GSMNP by a park spokesperson, dinner, silent auction, on-site store featuring our complete line of members-only merchandise and our Picture Yourself in the Smokies photo contest award ceremony.
Full weekend participation also remains available through August. Our welcome dinner, Saturday dinner + awards ceremony, and multiple Saturday and Sunday sessions guarantee a great time will be had by all.
Picture Yourself in the Smokies
When
: Friday – Sunday, September 20 – 22
Where
: River Terrace Resort, Downtown Gatlinburg, TN
Who
: All GRITS members are invited to attend
Why
: This event marks your chance each year to gather as a group, interact with NPS representatives, GSMA staff and board members
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Still available at Members Weekend
Hike, Write, Conserve
By Dana Murphy
Membership Events Specialist
For Hikers:
Hit the trail to Ramsey Cascades or Baskins Creek Falls. Both trips come with historical narration by our tenured guides: Lloyd and Charlene Shiver (Ramsey Cascades) and Stephen Lyn Bales (Baskins Creek Falls and Cemetery.)
Creative Writers:
We're offering two journaling courses led by Elise Anderson fresh from her 2019 GSMA Steve Kemp Writer-In-Residence stay and currently developing a ‘creative notebook’ designed to encourage hikers to explore the Smokies in new ways, record details of their sensory encounters, and share individual memory outlines to record their personal experiences in nature.
For Conservationists:
Steve O’Neil and his band of Earthshine animals will show us that everything in our ecosystem plays an important role on earth and how we can use the knowledge gained over this weekend of camaraderie and events to continue the GSMA mission
for the perpetual preservation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the national park system by promoting greater public understanding and appreciation through education, interpretation, and research.
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Sales of all exclusive members products help us recover a portion of our event expenses.
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Staff Recommendations
By Dawn Roark
Retail Director
Each year a member of our Creative Team accepts the challenge of showcasing the Smokies like never before in our
Annual Great Smoky Mountains Association Wall Calendar. This year, Lisa Horstman's effort
pays homage to the region's first photographers – Jim Thompson, Carlos Campbell, Doris Ulmann, E. E. Exline, George Masa, Dutch Roth and others – showcasing classic black-and-white images that captured and preserved for us the natural and human history of those early days before the Smokes was protected and became our park.
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Happy Birthday, Smokey! It's been 75 years since Smokey Bear first taught us the need to prevent wildfires – that's reason to celebrate. Teach your children about Smokey's mission while they assemble this fun mini-block version of the U.S. Forest Service's beloved mascot.
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Put butterflies and moths on your wall
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Some 30 inches tall by 20 inches wide, this poster is your best chance to see each of our park's most common butterflies and moths in the same place, at the same time.
Decorate a dorm, make your child's science teacher smile, brighten your sun room – there's so many reasons to order today!
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All purchases support the park!
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Foods of the Smokies
Pork chops with cherry glaze
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By Latria Graham
2019 Kemp Writer in Residence
When I heard about the Cub Report’s cooking column, I knew I wanted to spend part of my writer’s residency focusing on that. Food is such a powerful medium – it can conjure up memories, soothe a grief-stricken heart, and communicate a hundred years of history, all in one meal.
Food is also an interesting way to get better acquainted with an area and culture that might be unfamiliar. I only live a couple of hours from the Smokies, but the terrain and flora are different, and I enjoyed my time “cooking through the land.”
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Brined Pork Chops with Cherry Balsamic Glaze
I treat cherries like jewels—I think most people do. They crown the top of our ice cream sundaes and fanciful cocktails, and it seems there are never enough of these tart little gems to go around. So I made them the star of this dish.
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Celebrating Cosby: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
community programs will conclude for the year this Friday.
August 2 at 7 - 8 p.m. Old-time Music with Richard Bennett.
Enjoy traditional old-time music with Richard Bennett who once played with Bill Monroe.
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The program will be held at the Cosby Campground Amphitheater. In the event of rain, it will move to the covered picnic pavilion adjacent to Cosby Campground.
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GSMA members and the public are invited to participate in Smokies Service Days. Park staff will lead single-day volunteer opportunities designed for people of all ages interested in learning more about the park through hands-on service.
Sign up for any or all of the service projects, including opportunities to help care for park campgrounds, native plant gardens and a variety of natural and cultural resources. Volunteer projects run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Those interested in volunteering must contact Project Coordinator Andrew Mentrup at 865.436.1278 or by email prior to the scheduled event date to register. Space may be limited.
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Volunteer Service Opportunities
- August 17: Horse Trail Clean Up in Cosby
- September 14: Oconaluftee Visitor Center Flower Bed Maintenance
- September 21: Sugarlands Visitor Center Non-Native Honeysuckle Removal
- October 19: Campground Clean Up at Deep Creek
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Curiosity Cabinet
Hickory Horned Devils become Regal Moths
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By Peyton Proffitt
Membership Program Specialist
This month, curiosity drew me to the remarkable collection of insects housed at the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center. At first, I was overwhelmed by the number, age and diversity of the specimens, but after a few minutes, I decided to focus on specimens that made me think, “Oh, how pretty!”
Citheronia regalis
, the regal moth or royal walnut moth, a
Saturniidae
species of moth occurring in North America, north of Mexico, caught my eye. As a caterpillar,
Citheronia
regalis
is known as the hickory horned devil. One look at this image, and you’ll see it is aptly named. As a caterpillar, the hickory horned devil can grow up to 14 cm long, has massive red and black horns, a bright green body, and looks truly frightening.
During this time it feeds on deciduous trees, including hickories (
Carya
), Black Walnut (
Juglans nigra
), Butternut (
Juglans cinera
), American Sycamore (
Platanus occidentalis
) and ashes (
Fraxinus
). Once it is ready to begin pupation, the caterpillar expels its own guts and turns turquoise (seriously!), and burrows into a dirt chamber where, over the winter season, it transforms into an adult regal moth...
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on track to shatter its 11,421,203 visitor record from 2018:
January: 496,743
February: 421,770
March: 786,305
April: 999,259
May: 1,096,056
June: 1,469,857
Total So Far: 5,269,990
January – June 2018: 4,616,798
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Support Our Lookout League Business Partners
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Lookout League
membership is a sign of a business’s commitment to supporting the perpetual preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Every business is important in the support of the Smokies. This month we travel to Pigeon Forge, TN, to visit with another a long-standing member of the Lookout League.
The Old Mill
has been supporting GSMA since 2010, and so this begins their tenth year. Officially named “The Old Mill” in 1952, their story began nearly two centuries ago when local farmers with sacks of grain traveled to the newly built gristmill along the Little Pigeon River. In 2018, they marked their 25
th
year of serving hot biscuits, homemade pecan pie and fried chicken at The Old Mill Restaurant.
This year, Old Forge Distillery and Old Mill Lodging join in support of GSMA. Next time you head to Pigeon Forge, TN, stop and visit with this longtime supporter and thank them for supporting the Smokies. You can find them across the old bridge at traffic light #7.
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New Businesses
Look Rock Level ($250 annually)
Renewing Businesses
Cove Mountain ($1,000 annually)
Look Rock Level ($250 annually)
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If you own a business, please contact
Breckenridge@GSMAssoc.org to learn how your business can be part of the Great Smoky Mountains Association Lookout League.
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Ferguson Bears are a delight!
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From
Old-Mill.com
: Acclaimed American potter Douglas Ferguson noticed how the local red clay of Pigeon Forge made strong, beautiful pottery. He began Pigeon Forge Pottery in a 100-year-old tobacco barn built by John Sevier Trotter; he later built his home next door, the site of the Pottery House Cafe today.
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The most recent issue of
Smokies Guide
, Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official park newspaper, is available to read online and can be mailed to you for free (S&H charges apply). Call 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 for mailing details.
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Great Smoky Mountains Association's Cub Report e-newsletter is published on or about the last Wednesday of each month, with the exception of January.
Laurel Rematore, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Duff, Cub Report Editor
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Writers and contributors to this issue include Logan Boldon, Emma DuFort, Frances Figart, Karen Key, Breckenridge Morgan, Dana Murphy, Valerie Polk, Peyton Proffitt, Dawn Roark and Sarah Shiver.
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Decisions, decisions.
Apparel featuring GSMNP place names and iconic images makes up one of our most popular sales categories. This year alone nearly 30,000 T-shirts sold have helped us generate more than $670,000 in support of Great Smoky Mountains National Park through our
web store and
11 visitor contact stations in and around the national park.
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Save with our card when you visit other
national parks, too.
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