The Nickajack Naturalist

Chattanooga In The Running For Top Adventure Town

From The Chattanoogan

Chattanooga.                                                                    (Photo: Bob Butters)

Chattanooga could be crowned a Top Adventure Town by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine in its 10th annual Top Adventure Towns Contest sponsored by River Expeditions, which is currently underway.

The contest includes towns in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, which have vibrant outdoor scenes and access to world-class adventure.

Read more.

Things That Might Interest You 8-30-2020

A weekly roundup of nature-related odds and ends.

                                            (Image: Day Fire Podcast)

At Day Fire Podcast, Kristi Parsons is back talking about her beloved Smoky Mountains and some of the challenges that Covid 19 has on the National Park. They talk trails and how we can all get involved in supporting The Smoky Mountains National Park. We also get a quick history lesson.  Listen to Homewoods Smoky Mountains.

                                  (Image: The Wilderness Society)

A recent Wilderness Society newsletter presented three perspectives of the Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law Aug. 4, which secured full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, America’s most important conservation program.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how important parks and public lands are to communities. The new bill will help create and revitalize local trails and city parks; address a backlog of maintenance needs for our national parks and other public lands; and even put people to work on infrastructure projects supporting the recreation, travel and tourism economy. Read Land and Water Conservation Fund fully funded after decades of uncertainty.
• Since its birth, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been our most effective program for funding parks and outdoor recreation, paying for everything from improving national parks to building local swimming pools and repairing walking trails (without burdening taxpayers). Read The history of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a critical tool supporting parks and outdoor recreation.
• Climate change is already taking a heavy toll on communities across the U.S., affecting everything from small-town businesses to the supply of clean drinking water. But the Land and Water Conservation Fund can be a vital tool for confronting and mitigating those impacts. Read 5 ways LWCF can help confront climate change.

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An article in a recent issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's newsletter, The Roosevelt Report, stated that "Several recent conservation wins demonstrate that hunters and anglers have a powerful voice when the community speaks up on the issues that matter most. With that in mind, sportsmen and women need to pay attention in the upcoming weeks as the Senate and the House reconcile the different versions of two critical bills that passed through each chamber earlier this year. Here's why these negotiations could have a big impact on the fish and game that make our pastimes possible."  Learn more. 

Compiled by Bob Butters

Editor's note: Watch for some potential changes to this column starting next week.  BB

Reflection Riding Educational Partnerships / Red Wolf Update

From The Chattanoogan

Since its inception, Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center has believed in the power of outdoor education. Now, with workforce help from green|spaces and grant funding through Southface, the center aims to be a safe haven for students throughout COVID-19 and beyond.

Read more.

                                                 (Photo: Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center)

By Tish Gailmard at Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center 

Every year, the red wolf Management Team gets together to plan next year’s red wolf breeding season at our annual red wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) Summit meeting. As a member of the management team and Reflection Riding’s institutional representative, I always attend this meeting. It’s usually hosted by a cooperator, but this year we opted for a virtual meeting. It’s very exciting and insightful to visit other facilities to see their operation, enclosures, and facility, and we really missed that this year. The meeting  usually consists of 2-3 days of all things red wolf with lively discussions, tours, key speakers and a main goal of creating breeding and companion pairs for the next year’s breeding season. 

Why do we create breeding pairs — they don’t breed without help? Well, it’s slightly complicated.

Read more.

TDEC Unveils New Visitors Center at Fall Creek Falls State Park

TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation news release

From left are Park Manager Jacob Young; Rep. Paul Sherrell; Tennessee Department of General Services Commissioner Christi Branscom; Sen. Janice Bowling;

Speaker of the House of Representatives Cameron Sexton; and TDEC Deputy Commissioner Jim Bryson.  (Photo: TDEC)

Tennessee State Parks officials and legislators recently cut the ribbon to open a new Fall Creek Falls State Park Visitors Center, a $2.7 million, 4,800-sq.-ft. facility made possible by an investment by the Tennessee General Assembly.

“This is a special day for Fall Creek Falls and our parks system,” Jim Bryson, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said. “This facility enhances Fall Creek Falls as one of our most prestigious state parks, and we look forward to its role in bolstering the park and the community.”

Read more.

Cool Caverns to Explore when the Mercury Rises

From the Tennessee River Valley Stewardship Council

Beat the sultry heat of late summer by exploring one of the newest caves in the region.

 

The Tennessee River Valley is home to some 10,000 plus caves and caverns. Along the border of Tennessee and Alabama these caves range from the wild to the most historic, with evidence of human use dating back 10,000 years. The subterranean caves provide not only shelter from weather, but the cool temperatures of the caves have served as natural air-conditioning and refrigeration in earlier centuries.

 

One of the newest venues offering a respite from the heat is The Caverns in Pelham, TN. Better known as the venue for Bluegrass Underground, the Caverns have opened their newest attraction, cave tours of an underground cave that extends almost three football fields. Visitors to Tims Ford Lake and Recreation area now have a place to cool off when the weather turns inclement.

 

According to the owners of the Caverns evoke both myths and legends. The descent into the cave ends with a session of complete darkness. The lure of a cave brings out the explorer in us, but Native Americans understood that the darkness of the underground labyrinths was spiritual. The now closed, Nickajack cave in nearby Marion County, has a long history of commercial and historic uses that documents American History from frontier days to modern times. It is said that Johnny Cash went into Nickajack Cave and came out “reborn.”  At the Caverns, you will step into darkness and come out enlightened.

 

Just a short drive south is Cathedral Caverns in Alabama. Cathedral Caverns features many amazing sites: a "caveman" perched atop a flowstone wall, a "frozen" waterfall, a large stalagmite forest and a most improbable stone formation - a stalagmite that is 27 feet tall and 3 inches wide.

Tennessee State Parks To Host Tennessee Serves Events in September

Tennessee Dept. of Environment & Conservation news release

Tennessee State Parks will host volunteer events in September across the state as part of First Lady Maria Lee’s Tennessee Serves initiative.

“We are proud to partner for the second year with Tennessee State Parks and bring Tennessee Serves volunteer events to parks across the state,” said Lee. “We appreciate the many Tennesseans who have volunteered to help preserve the historic beauty of our state and look forward to a great month dedicated to serving our state parks.”

Read more.

Tennessee RiverTowns Update

From Tennessee RiverLine Partnership

(Aug. 21, 2020)  Thank you to all who played a part in the first application period of the Tennessee RiverTowns Program. Many of you supported the process, submitted applications for your communities, or helped share the message. Because of your help, we received 21 applications representing 17 counties, 33 municipalities and 448,000+ community members!

 

This week, the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership will begin reviewing applications. As a reminder, our timeline is:

• September 4 – Communities Notified of Acceptance
• October 15 – Public Announcement of 2021 Cohort of Tennessee RiverTowns Program enrollees

Unable to apply this year? Let us know!

In the meantime, be on the lookout on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and tnriverline.org for the announcement. If you have any lingering questions, please don't hesitate to contact our staff at [email protected].

Learn more about the Tennessee RiverLine Vision

Learn more about Tennessee RiverTowns

Download the Pilot Community Program reports

Questions? Please send them to [email protected].

Things That Might Interest You 8-23-2020

A weekly roundup of nature-related odds and ends.

Parts of Moccasin Bend (background) and Point Park (foreground), units of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, could potentially benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act.  (Photo: Bob Butters) 

A recent article in Outdoor Life by Alex Robinson and Natalie Krebs explains how "the Great American Outdoors Act proves that grassroots advocacy and our democracy still work—even if it’s not always pretty."  Read the article.

The Southern Environmental Law Center reports that If allowed to stand, White House changes to the National Environmental Policy Act will reduce public input that has guided major projects for decades, further diminishing the voices of communities that have long suffered environmental injustices and masking the full extent of polluting projects. On behalf of 17 environmental organizations, SELC filed a federal lawsuit to protect NEPA.  Read more.

 

The SELC also reports that In one of the Georgia General Assembly’s most interesting and remarkable legislative sessions in years, SELC and partners in the Georgia Water Coalition accomplished several important victories, many in the final days of the session. Read Improved environmental protections among Georgia legislative wins.

 

I concluded years ago that many people who wouldn't ordinarily litter don't see cigarette butts as litter. But they are, and they're ubiquitous in the environment. Fortunately, I recently ran across some good news. TerraCycle, the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams, has joined forces with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Keep Tennessee Beautiful to recycle the world’s most littered item – cigarette butts. After being shipped to TerraCycle, the waste received through the program is processed into plastic pellets for use in a variety of recycled products and Keep America Beautiful receives a $1 donation for every pound of cigarette waste collected.  Read more.

 

Compiled by Bob Butters

Asian Carp Expansion in Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers

TVA news release

                                                                                                                (Photo: USFWS)

Asian silver carp — known for jumping in large schools when stimulated by watercraft vibrations — can multiply quickly and disrupt river ecosystems. The invasive species is already established in Kentucky and Pickwick reservoirs. Extensive aquatic surveys by TVA, TWRA and others have shown that silver carp are scarce elsewhere in the Tennessee River system. However, the potential ecological, economic and recreational threat they pose could be devastating if unchecked.

Read more.

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service news release

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with federal and state agencies, recently participated in a webinar sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority that focused on Asian carp expansion across the Tennessee and Cumberland river systems. Learn what’s being done to combat the invasive fish.

Chattanooga's Coolest Places to Paddle

From Outdoor Chattanooga

                                                                                          (Photo: Outdoor Chattanooga)

Outdoor Chattanooga has compiled a list of the coolest places to paddle near Chattanooga in their August newsletter so you can cool off while also taking in some spectacular scenery. If you get out and give this local adventure a try, be sure to snap a photo and tag @outdoorchatt on instagram and Facebook to be featured in their feed.

Visit the Outdoor Chattanooga website.

Chester Frost County Park Free parking and launch site   Located 25 minutes from Chattanooga, Chester Frost County Park contains a power boat launch, boat docks and ramps, a swim beach, fishing piers, group picnic facilities, an indoor pavilion, and a developed campground for RV, tent, and group camping on the shores of Chickamauga Lake. The Park is operated by Hamilton County.   Take me there

Chickamauga Day Use Area - Free parking and launch site Chickamauga Dam was built by TVA in 1940 north of Chattanooga on the Tennessee River to help control flooding in the city. The reservoir is named after a tribe of Native Americans that broke away from the Cherokee Nation in the 1700s. They lived in villages along North Chickamauga Creek, which joins the river just below Chickamauga Dam. Now the river contributes to the city's economy as a major artery for barge traffic and outdoor recreation. The day use area at Chickamauga Dam includes a beach with a roped off swim area, a pavilion, numerous picnic tables with grills, a playground, 2 boat ramps and 2 restrooms.   Take me there

Booker T. Washington State Park Free - boat launch + other amenities   The 353-acre Booker T. Washington State Park is the closest Tennessee State Park to downtown Chattanooga. Located on a hilly peninsula that juts into Chickamauga Lake, the scenic park is a perfect location for family outings. The park offers a swimming pool, pavilion picnic areas, a playground, multiple fishing piers, a boat ramp and 6-miles of hiking and biking trails.   Take me there

Harrison Bay State Park Free - Marina and several launch points   Designated Tennessee’s first state park in 1937, Harrison Bay State Park is a 1,200-acre park located off Hwy 58, just 25 minutes from Chattanooga. This beautiful wooded park is a haven for campers, golfers, boaters, and anglers, as well as picnickers and other day-use visitors. With almost 40 miles of shoreline on Chickamauga Lake, it has one of the most complete marina facilities available on any of the TVA lakes and all types of boats and watercraft are allowed at the park.   Take me there

Hiwassee River Blueway Free - multiple launch points   The Hiwassee River Blueway offers 55 miles of adventure in Southeast Tennessee. Extending from the Appalachia Dam near the border of North Carolina to the Tennessee River at Blythe’s Ferry in Birchwood, the wide river is well known for its water-based recreational opportunities including tubing, kayaking, rafting, and fishing.   Take me there

Nantahala River Free   The Nantahala is well known for it's bone chilling cold waters! You'd be hard pressed to find colder waters in the Southeast! If you do, let us know! We want to take you on a virtual rafting trip down the Nantahala River! After you watch this video, we encourage you to go give it a try before the season ends! Nantahala Outdoor Center is the main outfitters on the river and has implemented plenty of COVID precautions. Find more details in the description of the video.   Take me there

Nickajack Cave Wildlife Refuge Free - spectacular wildlife experience   The Nickajack Cave Wildlife Refuge is a sanctuary for the endangered gray bats to raise their young. It also provides a spectacular wildlife viewing opportunity each evening at sunset from May to September when hundreds of thousands of gray bats emerge for their nightly feeding. The boat launch at Maple View Public Use area allows for easy access by paddle craft to the mouth of the cave, which provides the best vantage point for viewing the bats. This video highlights that launch and public use area.   Take me there

North Chickamauga Creek Free - Greenway Farm Park   There are two public canoe/kayak launch points at the Greenway Farm Park which makes this park a perfect location for families and beginners in any type of paddle craft to enjoy an afternoon paddle along the 2.5-mile stretch that bends around the park's peninsula. Creek levels can fluctuate due to water releases from TVA’s Chickamauga Dam on the Tennessee River. Be aware of release schedules before launching.   Take me there

Ocoee River Fees vary depending on the outfitter selected and type of paddling   Just an hour's drive from Chattanooga, the Ocoee River is known as the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Today, it's the most commercially rafted river in the U.S. with an average of 200,000 visitors each year. The river offers a variety of paddling options for all skill levels, ages and outdoor enthusiasts. If you're an adrenaline seeker, raft the upper or middle Ocoee with an experienced outfitter. If you're seeking a peaceful paddle, check out Parksville Lake or float down the lower Ocoee.   Take me there

South Chickamauga Creek Free - multiple launch points   The South Chickamauga Creek is a quiet paddler’s retreat flowing through Chattanooga’s thriving industrial core. It's also part of the Tennessee River Blueway and Chattanooga Area Water Trails System. The creek is navigable from Graysville Road (Ringgold, GA) to its confluence with the Tennessee River. There are several boat launches that give paddlers a variety of options for both short and long day paddling trips. The section from Sterchi Farm Park upriver or downriver for 4 miles is a perfect beginner paddle.   Take me there

Tennessee River Blueway Multiple Launch points- mostly free   Designated as a National Scenic River Trail in 2002, the Tennessee River Blueway flows through Chattanooga and the Tennessee River Gorge for 46 miles, from Chickamauga to Nickajack Dam. The Blueway’s unique paddling experience offers kayakers, canoeists, and paddleboarders the opportunity to visit wildlife preserves and camp primitively on public lands or stay in downtown hotels and take advantage of urban amenities. The Tennessee River flows through the heart of downtown Chattanooga’s thriving entertainment district and then continues through the high, forested walls of the river gorge, where towering bluffs and protected forests provide miles of spectacular paddling.   Take me there