The Nickajack Naturalist

Daniel Carter Interview

  My friend and colleague and local conservation activist Daniel Carter, one of the founders and curently advisory commitee member of, the Nickajack Recreational Corridor Coalition, was recently interviewed by Zeb Turrentine of the Alliance for the Cumberlands.  To read the interview, click here. 

Expansion of Mountain Goat Trail to Begin Soon

  Construction is set to begin soon on the Mountain Goat Trail, a rail to trail project, on the segment between St. Andrews and Monteagle.  Click here to read an Alliance for the Cumberlands article about it.

The Fiery Gizzard Project

  The Land Trust for Tennessee, the Conservation Fund, and Friends of South Cumberland are currently working on an exciting project to conserve over 6,200 acres of the Fiery Gizzard area, home to the nationally famous Fiery Gizzard Trail.  To learn more or to get involved, visit www.FieryGizzard.org or  www.friendsofscsra.org, or click here for a Conservation Fund article. 

McNabb Mines Meeting

  I recently attended a public meeting about the Tennessee River Gorge's historic McNabb Mines site held at the Jasper Regional History Museum.  The following is adapted from an article in the Jasper Journal.

  The McNabb Mines town ruins are located at the base of Hick's Mountain in Prentice Cooper State Forest.  In 2005, the Southeast Tennessee Development District completed a Tennessee Historic Commission historic preservation fund grant application on behalf of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.  The funds were requested to complete a pedestrian survey and National Register of Historic Places nomination for the site.  When the Trust was awarded the grant 2006, Alexander Archeological Consultants was selected to carry out the project. 

  The purpose of the public meeting was to educate people about the McNabb Mines site and its historical significance, and to see if the community is interested in further protecting and interpreting the site.  The information gained from citizens at the meeting will be considered as the preservation planning continues.

  AAC historian Jaime Woodcock stated, "McNabb Mines is a truly rare and remarkably intact nineteenth-century mining community that stands as a site significant to the industrial, engineering, social, and commercial history in Tennessee's Cumberland plateau region.  The McNabb Coal and Coke Company's choice to construct several buildings with local handcut sandstone has made the town an enduring reminder of the coal industry's impact on local lives and landscapes, even though it was abandoned around a century ago.  I was fortunate to be able to work on the survey of this fascinating site."

 

   

New Partnership with Alliance for the Cumberlands

  I'm excited to announce that the Nickajack Recreational Corridor Coalition, of which I'm coordinator, is now a member of the organization Alliance for the Cumberlands.  Also, yours truly has been elected to a four year term as an Alliance board member.  I just attended my first board meeting in Cookeville,TN, where the Alliance is headquartered, on Wednesday, September 29th.

  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Alliance for the Cumberlands, as it's a relatively young organization, it's basically a group of organizations and government agencies working together to preserve the Cumberland Plateau region way of life through conserving and promoting the region's historical, cultural, economic, and natural assets.  For more information, visit their website at www.allianceforthecumberlands.org.

  I was recently interviewed by the Alliance's executive director, Zeb Turentine.  Read his report,"Bob Butters - Conservation with an Accent", here.

Bob Butters