Body of Missing Off Trail Hiker Found in Greenbrier area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Search teams found a body in the Great Smoky Mountains national park this morning at around 9:30am matching the description and believed to be that of avid 62 year old hiker Jenny Bennett who lived in Sylva North Carolina and according to her family has been missing since at least June 1st 2015.

Numerous people noticed her car sitting alone at the Porters Creek Trailhead parking area which was confirmed by rangers last night at around 7:53pm. Being too late to start a search, an area wide search went underway first thing this morning involving trained man trackers from the national park and other agencies with the aid of dogs.

The search ended when they found what ranger believe to be hiker Jenny Bennett’s body in an off trail area of Lester Prong in Greenbrier about a mile south and above backcountry campsite 31 at the end of the Porters Creek. Foul play is not suspected at this time.

Many other hikers have been lost or stranded in the same general area in the past, most notably GSMNP Backcountry Park Volunteer 70 year old hiker Albert Morgan Briggs who spent almost a week stranded atop Porters Mountain.

Exact details are still sketchy as to when she started her ill fated hike, but what is known is that her car was parked at the Porters Creek Parking area since at least the night before last. When Jenny Bennett decided to get in one more solo off trail hike in the Great Smoky Mountains national park before moving to Vermont is anyone’s guess at this point.

What is known is she was supposed to move to Vermont on June 1st and when movers arrived at her residence in Sylva, she was nowhere to be found.

Jenny Bennett’s brother Peter Bennett had no idea that she was missing until Saturday June 6 when he received a call from her landlord in Sylva who told him that her belongings were still in the house in Sylva, some of which were never packed.

He then reported her absence as well as the fact Jenny was an avid hiker and a member of the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club to a Jackson County Sheriff deputy who told him that they were going to treat this as a missing person case and start searching for her car.

Peter Bennett went on to tell the deputy that she was probably up one of the trails in the area. The Sheriff's department told him they were going to follow up and search the trail heads for her car.

Her brother Peter expecting the best assumed he would hear back from the Sheriff’s department with a few hours, but by the end of the day he had not heard back and became more concerned prompting him to email the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club.

The next day on June 7th at 10:36am Peter Bennett posted a missing persons report on the Go Smokies blog which eventually made its way around Facebook as well. National Park Officials we also notified the on June 7th that Bennett was missing as far back as Saturday May 30 and possibly in the park.

The park service had no recent backcountry permits on file for Jenny Bennett, nor was her parked cars license plate run the system to see if she had an active backcountry permit while it sat in the parking area for at least 1 day prior to it being reported missing.

Not only was Jenny Bennett an avid off trail hiker in the Smokies, she was a writer as well. She produced 2 books Murder at the Jumpoff and the latest being The Twelve Streams of LeConte as well as a blogger writing on treamsandforests.wordpress.com

More information to follow...

Synchronous Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains in June 2015

One of the most anticipated events that takes place in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is when the Synchronous Fireflies also known as lightning bugs, emerge from underground and converge in huge numbers appearing to synchronize their flashes with one another for mating purposes.

This event has become so popular that the National park service had to arrange to have shuttle buses (actually trolleys) for parking and safety reasons bring visitors to where they can be seen best and crowds would be the safest - Elkmont Tennessee.

This year the 2015 firefly event will take place from June 2nd 2015 to June 9th and the firefly event tickets will start going on sale April 30th 2015 for $1 per person and parking passes will be $1.50 per vehicle.

For more information about the fireflies in the Smokies, reservations and how to obtain a permit in order to film the firefly event, visit this Fireflies in the Smokies page.

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment

Schedule for Day 8 of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2015 in Pigeon Forge Tennessee Smokies

Hard to believe that the last day of the Pigeon Forge Wilderness Wildlife Week in the Winter is already here under yet another day of snow capped peaks and road closures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The good news is that the few road closures that are still active this morning as well as the weather in the Smokies will not impact any more of the guided hikes and tours and are more of an inconvenience to anyone want to go over the mountain via Newfound Gap Road US441.

Due to 2 small snow storms that rushed through the area, there is still about 5 inches of snow at Newfound Gap and sunrise happening right now over LeConte is a stunning sight. Cades Cove even tomorrow will be post card perfect looking up at Gregory Bald.

There have been hundreds of programs that have already taken place this year at Wilderness Wildlife Week and some programs with local wildlife and nature experts such as Kim Delozier and Warren Bielenberg and performers such as Boogertown Gap have again become attendees favorites.

Even though some other hikes were canceled due to conditions, Warren Bielenberg led three morning bird walks along the Little Pigeon River near the Leconte Center in which he and attendees observed more than 25 bird species each morning and had a cumulative number of 33 species!

Some of the best programs to attend today are the early morning Photography Workshop, A Year in the Life of a Bear by David Whitehead and Southern Fly Fishing by Jon Hopper.

Sat, January 31th 2015 Wilderness Wildlife Week Schedule

• 9 to 9:45am: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Fly Fishing 101. Presented by Dave Carson. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 9 to 10am: Discovering the Cumberlands Video Presentation. Presented by Stuart Carroll. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 9 to 1pm: Photography Workshop. Presented by Warren Bedell, Kendall Chiles and Don McGowan. A YourSmokies favorite! Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 9 to 1pm: Special Hours for Photo Contest in Taking place in the LeConte Hall North.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: Digital Printing Made Easy. Presented by Douglas Hubbard. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Yellowstone in Winter: A Photo Tour of Our First National Park Video Presentation. Presented by Jerry Whaley. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 9:30 to 11:30am: LIMITED SPACE! Design Your Own Wilderness Wildlife Week Bandana. Presented by Louise Bales. Limit to 20 people ages 12+ who will join Louise as she teaches them how to design their own Wilderness Wildlife Week 25th Anniversary commemorative bandana. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 10 to 11am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Eat or Be Eaten: How Animals Protect Themselves. Presented by Kris Light. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 10 to 11am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Make a Grapevine Dreamcatcher. Presented by Sue Todd. Limited to 10 people ages 15+. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 10 to 10:45am: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! South Holston River Trout. Presented by Jon Hopper. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 10:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Learn How to Scan and Digitalize Old Photographs or Negatives/Slides. Presented by Bob Keim. Limit 8, bring some pictures/slides. Should have computer knowledge. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 10:15 to 10:45am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Waterfalls of Tennessee’s Highland Rim and Cumberland Plateau Regions. Presented by Keith Garnes. Join Keith as he shares an overview of Tennessee’s waterfalls west of GSMNP including Fall Creek Falls, Burgess Falls and numerous others. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 11 to 11:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Waterfalls of Tennessee’s Appalachian Corridor. Presented by Keith Garnes. Join Keith as he shares waterfalls from Polk to Johnson Counties, as well as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 11 – Noon: Better Wildflower Pictures. Presented by Bob Stephenson. Join Bob as he provides knowledge on basic camera operation, optics and composition to take excellent flower photos. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 11 – Noon: Capturing Wildlife with a Remote Camera. Presented by Joel Zachry. Join Joel as he shares entertaining stories of capturing wildlife on camera. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 11 to 11:45am: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Traditional Flies of the Smokies. Presented by Don Kirk. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 11:30 to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! The Red Headed Boogertown Bunch. Presented by Mary Phillips. Limit 30, ages 5-10. Participants join Mary as she continues the Tall Tales of a firefly, a boy named Booger and his faithful cat, Stinker. "Who is your granddaddies uncle’s sister? Where did your red hair come from?" Spin a tall tale and color something totally bewildering. Recognize four new native plants. Curriculum standards apply for science, art and literature. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• Noon to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Acoustics II: Sound and Birds. Presented by Ethan Duke. Join Ethan as he introduces attendees to techniques for recording and methods of using sounds to monitor the natural world. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• Noon to 1pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Pioneer and Historical Toys. Presented by Roy Henson. Limited to 20 people ages 10+ who will join Roy as he instructs them on how to make historical style toys pioneers would have had in days gone by. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• Noon to 12:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Cataloochee: The Far East of GSMNP. Presented by Ron Gaddy. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Wildlife on White: Meet Your Neighbors. Presented by Todd Amacher and Paul Hassell. Join wildlife photographers and MYN contributors Paul and Todd as they come to inspire you with the story of a worldwide photography movement across the globe that connects people with wildlife in their own backyard. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Adventures West. Presented by Pat and Wendell Gordy. Join Pat and Wendell as they share photos and stories from their western U.S. adventure visiting national parks and working and volunteering for the National Elk Refuge and the Greater Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Visitor Center. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: Wild Ones Among Us. Presented by Lynne McCoy. Join Lynne as she shares the story of wildlife rehabilitation with live animals as ambassadors, including non-releasable animals and their stories and natural history. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 1 to 2pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Cades Cove War Veterans. Presented by Dorothy Gregory Sutton. Join Dorothy as she discusses Cades Cove veterans and how war affected Cades Cove and surrounding communities. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1 to 1:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Fontana Backcountry Trout. Presented by Steve Claxton. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: Range of Light: Capturing the Mood of the Smokies. Presented by Jerry Whaley. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Whittle a Mountain Flower. Presented by Jacki Proffitt. Limit to 10 people ages 16+. Participants must bring own sharpened pocket knife. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Carve a Wildlife Stamp. Presented by Pat Thomas. Limit to 12 people ages 12+. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: Wild Hog Management: Are We Too Late? Presented by David Whitehead. Join David as he discusses the history of the European wild hogs of Tennessee and the Smokies. Questions to be answered include when did they arrive, how did they spread, problems they cause and behaviors. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! The Elkmont Community. Presented by Missy Tipton Green and Paulette Ledbetter. Join Missy and Paulette as they discuss Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s historic Elkmont community along with a special photo presentation. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Attracting and Protecting Bluebirds. Presented by Steve Garr. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 2 to 2:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Bamboo Rods. Presented by John Hollifield. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 2 to 3:30pm: Advanced SLR Flower Photography. Presented by Robert Hutson. Join Robert as he provides insight to photographers of all skills on tips and techniques used to capture flower pictures with a single lens reflex camera. No camera required. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2:30 to 3:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! True Bear Tales. Presented by Janet Dalton. Join Janet as she relates funny and engaging true stories about the black bear cubs rehabilitated by Appalachian Bear Rescue. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3 to 4pm: Where and When to Photograph in the Smokies: Fall and Winter. Presented by Roger Trentham. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 3 to 3:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Museum. Presented by Alen Baker. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3:15 to 6pm: Photography Contest Pickup: Sherry Lutes and Event Volunteers at the Taking place in the LeConte Hall North Concourse.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The 2014 SCIPE Digital Contest Showcase. Presented by Pat Gordy. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: HERITAGE! Tom Davis, Lizzie Crozier French and the Mystery of the White Caps Book. Presented by Don Williams. Critics say E.W. Crozier could not have written "The White Caps: A History of the Organization in Sevier County" (1899) about a vigilante order that numbered in the hundreds and spread fear, brutality and murder across the Smoky Mountain foothills. New research suggests not only did Crozier write the book, but that it bears the stamp of his famous suffragette sister, Lizzie, along with the heroic sheriff, Tom Davis. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! While the Men Were Away: Stories of Brave Cocke County, Tennessee Women and Children. Presented by J. Duay O’Neil. Join Duay as he tells stories of the bravery of Cocke County, Tennessee’s women and children as their husbands and fathers were away during various times of war. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 3:45 to 4:45pm: A Year in the Life of a Bear: The Life History of Black Bears in Tennessee. Presented by David Whitehead. Join David as he discusses the food habits, life cycle and behavior of black bears in Tennessee. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 4 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Taking Better Photos Using Your Camera, Cell Phone and Tablet. Presented by Jim Eastin. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 4 to 4:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Blue Lining Off the Wireless Grid. Presented by Fred Turner. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Shaconage: Land of the Blue Sky. Presented by Harry Dunn. Join Harry as he reviews the history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the heritage of its inhabitants in this special video presentation. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! How Are Photographs Judged and How to Select Images for Contest Entry. Presented by Douglas Hubbard. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 5 to 5:45pm: SOUTHERN TROUT FLY FISHING FAIR! Backcountry Cooking. Presented by Craig Haney. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 5:40pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Seeing God in Nature: The Joys of Seeing the Creator in His Creation. Presented by Ken Jenkins. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 6:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! TICKETED FUNDRAISER EVENT! Appalachian Bear Rescue Fundraiser. Presented by Sam Venable, Ken Jenkins and Friends. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   

Schedule for Day 5 of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2015 in Pigeon Forge Tennessee Smokies

It is a bright cold clear day as day 5 of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2015 is about to start at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge to a packed house. The scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains national park with yesterday's fresh snow may be beautiful, but this is another day not all of the guided hikes may be able to take place again.

Just minutes ago the Gatlinburg Bypass was plowed and sanded enough to reopen As Little River Road and Newfound Gap Road remain closed due to snow and ice, but here inside the LeConte Center on Teaster Lane it's warm and cozy and the free programs taking place all day would keep any outdoor enthusiast satisfied enough to stay inside.

Today’s packed Wilderness Wildlife Week schedule includes such favorites as another limited class on The Art of Dowsing being presented by Charlie Monday, the Appalachian Music Concert. Presented by Carolina Bluegrass Boys and Appalachian Cloggers and Hiking the 900 miles of Trails in the GSMNP presented by Judy Bryant.

Wed, January 28th 2015 Wilderness Wildlife Week Schedule

• 9 to 10am: Restoring the Whooping Crane to the Eastern Flyway Slide Presentation. Presented by Ken Dubke. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 9 to 10am: Hosting Hummingbirds. Presented by Regina Garr. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 9 to 10am: LIMITED SPACE! The Art of Dowsing. Presented by Charlie Monday. Limit 30. Participants join Charlie to see if they have the gift of dowsing. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 9 – Noon: LIMITED SPACE! Painting a Smoky Mountain Waterfall. Presented by Dick Ensing. Limit 16, ages 18+. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: History of Bays Mountain Park. Presented by Rhonda Goins and taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 10 to 11am: HERITAGE! Flyin’ Bullets and the Resplendent Badge. Presented by Ersa Rhea Noland Smith. Join Mrs. Smith as she shares the riveting account of her father, Sheriff Ray C. Noland’s years in office in Sevier County. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 10 to 11am: Wonderful Waterfalls Slide Presentation. Presented by Bill Carter. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 10 to 11am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Hiking Mt. Whitney in One Day. Presented by Jim Pader. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 10 to 11:30am: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Booger: A Tall Tale of the Mountains. Presented by Mary Phillips. Limit 60, ages 5-10. Participants join Mary as she tells the story of about a firefly, a boy named Booger and his faithful cat, Stinker. Kids learn to use the Great Smoky Mountain Wildflower guide book. Program meets curriculum standards for science, literature, life skills and art. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 10 to 11:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Ancient Rhythms: Learn to Play the Native American Flute. Presented by Megan Griffin. Limit 30, must bring own flute. If participants do not have one, educational Native American flutes can be purchased for a small fee from Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center’s booth. Taking place in the LeConte Hall North.
   
• 10:30 to 11:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! How to Start an Herb Garden. Presented by Judy Felts. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 10:30 to 11:30am: The Spirits of Cades Cove Video Presentation. Presented by GSMNP Park Ranger Mike Meldrum. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 11 to 11:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! 900 Miles and Then Some: Hiking the Trails of GSMNP. Presented by Judy Bryant. Join Judy as she discusses keeping a hiking journal and answers questions about hiking all the maintained trails of GSMNP. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 11 – Noon: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Paint Your Own Watercolor Notecards. Presented by Melanie Fetterolf. Limited to 15 people ages 12+. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Horace Kephart Monologue. Presented by Will Rabert. Join Will as he portrays Horace Kephart, author of "Our Southern Highlanders," hiker and explorer of the Smokies, as well as a founder of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Restoring the Mighty American Chestnut to its Native Range. Presented by Tom Saielli. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Off the Beaten Path: An Up-close Look at the Obed Wild and Scenic River National Park. Presented by Veronica Greear. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: Appalachian Music Concert. Presented by Carolina Bluegrass Boys and Appalachian Cloggers. Attendees will enjoy this special bluegrass performance and have fun by getting up and clogging with the Appalachian Cloggers! Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• Noon to 1pm: Audubon and His Birds of America. Presented by Stephen Lyn Bales. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• Noon to 2pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Carving and Painting an Owl, Part Two. Presented by Don Taylor. Limited to 10 people, two day session. Participants must bring own sharp carving tools and paint brushes. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: HERITAGE! The Story of Greenbrier Cove. Presented by Glenn Cardwell. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Whittle a Mountain Flower. Presented by Jacki Proffitt. Limited to 10 people ages 16+ who must bring own sharpened pocket knife. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Making a Hand Broom for Decoration. Presented by David Ogle. Limited to 10 people ages 16+. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: Never to Young, Never Too Old. Presented by W.C. and Glenna Julian and Tammie and Olivia Browning. Join the Julians and Brownings as they discuss how no one is ever to young or too old to work on a backyard habitat. They will also provide encouragement for attendees to certify their backyards with National Wildlife. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 1 to 2pm: To Niagara and Back by Waterfall Slide Presentation. Presented by Bill Carter. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1 to 2pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Books, Blue Jeans and Basketball. Presented by a Panel featuring Gwendell Cody, Donna Allen and Ron Rader with Veta King, Pigeon Forge Public Library, interviewer. Join former Pigeon Forge Grammar School students as they reminisce about the old white building on the hill. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 1 to 2pm: HERITAGE! Smoky Mountain Ballads and Songs. Presented by Boogertown Gap a YourSmokies favorite. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 1 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Walking the Via Tolosana and More in France. Presented by Olga Pader. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Adventures of an African Game Ranger. Presented by Don Richards. Join Don as he shares stories of personal adventures while leading wilderness trails in big game country of South Africa. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Sail On, Honeybee: Adventures in the Bee Yard. Presented by Doug Elliott. Join master storyteller, harmonica wizard and longtime beekeeper Doug Elliott as he tells outlandish tales from the world of bees and beekeeping. Learn from Doug practical advice on how to treat a bee sting, catch a bee swarm and also what to do if you are way up high in a tree and 50,000 bees fall on your head! Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 2 to 3pm: It’s Puppy Time at Bays Mountain. Presented by Rick and Rhonda Goins. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2 to 3pm: LIMITED SPACE! The Art of Dowsing presented by Charlie Monday. Limit to 30 Participants who will join Charlie to see if they have the gift of dowsing. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 2 to 3pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Garbage Pizza. Presented by Keep Sevier Beautiful. Limited to 25 people ages 8+ who will learn about solid waste disposable options comparing Sevier County to the United States. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! KIDS’ TRACK! Natural Treasures of the Obed: Use Your Senses to Discover Natural Features of the Park. Presented by Veronica Greear. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2:30 to 3:30pm: HERITAGE! History of the Old Mill District: From the Original Settler to the Present Day: Jimmy Edge. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 2:30 to 3:30pm: String Band Music of Our American Roots. Presented by Lost Mill String Band. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 3 to 4pm: Ranger Family Recollections. Presented by Joe Kelley and Sons. Join Joe and his sons as they share experiences of life in a ranger station. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! The History and the Stories of the Cherokee in the Smokies. Presented by Jon Elder. Join Jon, a fifth generation Sevier County resident and member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, as he shares the history and some Indian folklore of the earliest inhabitants of the Smoky Mountains. From the earliest traces of the Cherokee presence to the first encounters with Europeans to the removal and rebirth of the Eastern Cherokee tribe, Jon will share his family history and stories of growing up "on both sides of the mountain." Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Birds of Prey: History and Biology of a Variety of Live Birds and Prey. Presented by David Haggard. Live birds including a Bald Eagle, hawks and owls. Meet and learn about these fascinating birds! Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Adventure Course Team building at Bays Mountain Park. Presented by Mark Kilgore. Join Mark as he discusses the Bays Mountain Park Adventure Course and what elements it has to offer and how they work on teamwork, leadership, trust and stamina. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Life Circle of Butterflies. Presented by Lois Worthington. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Pioneer and Historical Toys. Presented by Roy Henson. Limited to 20 participants ages 10+ who will join Roy as he instructs them on how to make historical style toys pioneers would have had in days gone by. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: Learn to Play Spoons and Washtub Bass. Limited to Boogertown Gap. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4 to 5pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Historic Photographs. Presented by Steve Cotham. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 4 to 5pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Gardens, Weeds and John Barleycorn: Celebrating the Culture in Agriculture. Limited to Doug Elliott. Join master storyteller, harmonica wizard Doug Elliott as he celebrates all things agriculture related in story and song. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 4 to 5:30pm: LIMITED SPACE! Drawing to Identify Trees. Presented by Maurice Edwards and William Hurst. Limit 12 participants ages 18+ who will join a professional botanist and an artist to draw tree parts toward the goal of species identification. Bring own art supplies and plant material or use instructors’ pencils, paper and subject matter. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! The Cemeteries of the Smokies. Presented by Dr. Gail Palmer. Join Dr. Palmer as she discusses the various cemeteries of the Smokies. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: HERITAGE! The Civilian Conservation Corps: FDR’s Tree Army. Presented by Bill Deitzer. Join Bill as he discusses the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which built several of our national parks including the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks. Bill will cover the why, the who and the results of this unique corps of 1930’s young men. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Conservation of America’s Birds: History and Modern Issues. Presented by Dana Ripper. Join Dana as she discusses extinct native birds and the conservation issues facing birds today. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! How Bear Cubs Learn to Be Bears. Presented by Kathy Sherrard. Join Kathy as she illustrates the differences of black bear cubs living in the wild to those rehabilitated at Appalachian Bear Rescue. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 4:30 to 6pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Workshop for Teachers to Utilize Storytelling and Booger’s Tall Tales in the Classroom. Presented by Mary Phillips. Limit 30. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
.
• 5 to 6pm: LIMITED SPACE! Beginners Acoustic Guitar Workshop. Presented by Tony Thomas. Limit to 10 participants must bring own acoustic guitar. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 5:30 to 6:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! The Blue Mountains Sing of Rivers, Old Men, Trails, and Trout. Presented by Ron Rader. Join Ron, a Pigeon Forge native son, and hear his boyhood chronicles as he and his friends come of age in the 1940s and 1950s era as they roam in yesteryear’s Pigeon Forge, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Elkmont and beyond. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 5:30 to 6:30pm: Appalachian Music Concert. Presented by Carolina Bluegrass Boys and Appalachian Cloggers. Attendees will enjoy this special bluegrass performance and can even get up and clog with the Appalachian Cloggers! Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 6pm: Friday Hikes and Field Trips Sign-ups in the Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 6:30 to 7:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Giving Bears a Second Chance: Rehabbing Black Bears. Presented by Coy Blair. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 7:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! The History of the University of Tennessee’s Internationally-Recognized "Body Farm". Presented by Dr. Bill Bass. Join Dr. Bass as he discusses the history of the original "Body Farm" founded at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   

Schedule for Day 4 of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2015 in Pigeon Forge Tennessee Smokies

As day 4 of Wilderness WIldlife Week kicks off in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee the Parkway is slick with just a light dusting of snow, however major Great Smoky Mountains national park roads such as Newfound Gap, Cherokee Orchard and Laurel Creek to Cades Cove are all closed due to ice and snow so the best place to be is nice and warm in the LeConte Center on Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge.

Stay warm and dry today and enjoy some great programs for free such as music by Boogertown Gap, exploring the Wild World of Animals by Knoxville Zoomobile and being a Junior Bear Curator for Appalachian Bear Rescue. Great learning, great fun, and it is all free!

Don't forget to take a stroll through the exhibition hall and say hi to our friends from Friends of the Smokies!

Some of today’s guided hikes and tours may not take place due to the weather.

Tues, January 27 2015 Wilderness Wildlife Week Schedule

• 9 to 10am: Green Power Providers. Presented by Lucas Harkleroad. Join Lucas as he discusses producing electricity with renewables, energy efficiency and grid tie systems. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 9 to 10am: Restoring Tennessee’s Nesting Osprey Slide Presentation. Presented by Ken Dubke. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Rocks and Stones: Actual and Art. Presented by Pat Thomas. Join Pat as she compares rock formations to the art of watercolor marbling stone patterns as art reflects life. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Medicinal Gardening Good for You and the Earth! A Discussion of Medicinal Herbs, Both Cultivated and Native, as Well as Their Uses. Presented by Dana Ripper Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Who’s Nesting in Your Nestbox? Presented by Regina Garr. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: Bringing Sustainable Development to Badly Developed Kenya. Presented by Don Richards. Join Don as he describes how environmental degradation on the shores of and in Lake Victoria in Western Kenya has happened, as well as the effects on the people and remedies. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: LIMITED SPACE! The Art of Dowsing. Presented by Charlie Monday. Limited to 30 participants who will join Charlie to see if they have the gift of dowsing. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 9:30 to 11am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Potholder Loom Weaving. Presented by Sherry Mummert. Limit 10, ages 10+. Participants will join Sherry as she teaches them by using cotton loopers, a square potholder will be woven on a small loom. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 10 to 11am: HERITAGE! Meet Mr. Herbert Clabo. Presented by Herbert Clabo with Veta King, Pigeon Forge Public Library, interviewer Join Mr. Clabo as he shares stories of living more than 100 years in the Great Smoky Mountains and Roaring Fork. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 10 to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Studio Lighting Workshop for Photographers of All Experience Levels. Presented by Douglas Hubbard. Limited to 20 people ages 16+. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 10:30 to 11:30am: Awesome ’Possum: The Natural History of the Opossum. Presented by Lynne McCoy. Join Lynne as she discusses the history of the opossum and shares a special DVD. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 10:50 to 11:50am: Energy, Effort and Passion: Volunteering in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Presented by Christine Hoyer (a YourSmokies favorite!). Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 11 – Noon: Keeping Your Forest Healthy. Presented by Glenn Taylor. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 11 – Noon: Arches Along the Way: Arches and Natural Bridges Along Tennessee’s Trails. Presented by Keith Garnes. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 11 – Noon: KIDS’ TRACK! Wild World of Animals. Presented by Knoxville Zoomobile. Live animal show! Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Vintage Postcards of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Presented by Adam Alfrey. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Painting Violets on a Sweatshirt or T-Shirt. Presented by Lois Armstrong. Limited to 10 people each of whom must bring own white t-shirt or sweatshirt. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• Noon to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Homeowners’ Guide for Preventing and Controlling Invasive Plants. Presented by Leon Bates. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 12:15 to 1:15pm: Identifying Local Birds of Prey. Presented by Stephen Lyn Bales. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! From Rugs to Hugs: My Adventures with Bears. Presented by David Whitehead. Join David as he recounts his adventures with bears from an early age to more than 30 years as a wildlife biologist in Tennessee. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 1 to 2pm: Waterfalls of Tennessee Slide Presentation. Presented by Bill Carter. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 1 to 2pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Over in the Holler. Presented by Ruth Carr Miller. Join Ruth as she shares short stories of mountaineers who lived between the hills and hollers of these Great Smoky Mountains. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 1 to 2pm: LIMITED SPACE! The Art of Dowsing. Presented by Charlie Monday. Limit to 30 participants who will join Charlie to see if they have the gift of dowsing. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 1 to 2pm: Reverend Dr. John Burnett, Founder of Pittman Community Monologue. Presented by Will Rabert. Join Will as he portrays Reverend Dr. John Burnett, the founder of Pittman Center school, clinic and churches in the mountains. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Carving and Painting an Owl, Part One. Presented by Don Taylor. Limit to 10 people, two day session. Participants must bring own sharp carving tools and paint brushes. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Managing Tennessee’s Wildlife: Successes and Failures. Presented by Daryl Ratajczak. Join Daryl as he discusses how managing Tennessee’s wildlife is an ongoing struggle full or ups and downs. Hear about TWRA’s greatest successes and hardest struggles past and present. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1:45 to 2:45pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Historic Rugby, Tennessee: Where Nature and History Collide. Presented by Michael Harris. Join Michael as he discusses the history and preservation of this restored Victorian village that was founded in 1880 by British author and social reformer, Thomas Hughes. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! For Love of the Smokies: Hiking the Trails of GSMNP. Presented by J.L. Stepp. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! In Presence of the Elders. Presented by Donald Wells. Join Donald as he discusses what can be learned from tribal elders he has interviewed and filmed regarding their loss of culture, as well as about their spirituality and wisdom. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 2 to 3pm: HERITAGE! Music and Songs of the Smokies. Presented by Tony Thomas. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 2 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Make an Appalachian Mountain Corn Shuck Doll. Presented by Anne Freels. Limited to 8 people. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2:30 to 3:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Bays Mountain: A Walk in the Park. Presented by Rhonda Goins. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 2:30 to 4pm: LIMITED SPACE! Intermediate and Advanced Hammer Dulcimer. Presented by Tim Sime. Limit to 20 people participants who must bring own instruments. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Early Pigeon Forge: The Start of Something BIG video presentation! Presented by Veta King, Pigeon Forge Public Library. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Winter: A Time of Nature Observation. Presented by Joel Zachry. Join Joel as he provides entertaining narration in nature’s winter treasures, including landscapes, plants and animal signs. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 3:15 to 4:45pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Who, What and Where of the Matter. Presented by Kathy Gwinn. Join Kathy as she tells attendees stories behind some of the most loved and remembered people, places and events in our country. As listeners, you get to answer the who, what and where of each story. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 3:30 to 4pm: LIMITED SPACE! Beginning Clogging Lessons. Presented by J.K. and Doris Patton. Limited to 20 people. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: Survival Lessons Learned in an Aircraft Accident. Presented by Joe Taft. Join Joe as he relates practical survival lessons appropriate for any situation he learned in a multi-engine A.F. aircraft accident in the Atlantic Ocean. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! The Uses of Essential Oils in Household Products. Presented by Alison Houston. Limited to 10 people ages 16+ will learn to make a household cleaner to take home with them. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 3:30 to 5pm: Civil War in the West, 1864-1865. Presented by Jack Carman. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 4 to 5pm: Civil War Medical: Medicine of 1860s. Presented by Bill Walker. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 4:15 to 4:45pm: LIMITED SPACE! Beginning Clogging Lessons. Presented by J.K. and Doris Patton. Limited to 20 people. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Great Smoky Mountains History You May Not Know. Presented by Joe Kelley. Join retired NPS Ranger Joe Kelley as he shares little-known facts about events, plans and occurrences in the Smokies. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Beauty and the Beast: A Photographic Introduction to Hillwalking in Scotland. Presented by Andy Drinnon. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Animal Olympics. Presented by Mike Meldrum. Limited to 30 Participants who will join Mike as they compete in a program that tests animals abilities with humans. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 4:45 to 5:45pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Be a Junior Bear Curator for Appalachian Bear Rescue. Presented by Kathy Sherrard and ABR’s K-8 Education Team. Limited to 20 Kids ages 5 to 12. A YourSmokies Favorite! Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 5 to 6pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Down the Grand Canyon on a Raft: The Ultimate Camping Trip Video Presentation. Presented by Mark Evans. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 5 to 6:30pm: HERITAGE! Smoky Mountain Inhabitants and Their Music. Presented by Boogertown Gap (a YourSMokies favorite!) Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 5:15 to 6:45pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The History of Greenbrier: People, Homesites and the Establishment of GSMNP. Presented by Mike Maples. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 5:30 to 6:30pm: Bears, Boars and Bulls: A Wild Life with the Smokies Critters! Presented by retired park ranger Kim Delozier. Join Kim as he shares stories (some funny, others exciting and a couple scary ones, too) of managing wildlife of the Smokies over a 32-year career as a wildlife biologist. A YourSmokies Favorite. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 5:45 to 6:45pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Winter Birds and Wintering Waterfowl of East Tennessee. Presented by Randy Hedgepath. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 6pm: Thursday Hikes and Field Trips Sign-ups in Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 6:30 to 7:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Dragonflies of Tennessee. Presented by Marty Silver. Join Marty as he discusses all things dragonfly and damselfly related. This session discusses how dragonflies are indicators of the health of our nearby environments and will provide participants information on how to observe, photograph and identify these amazing insects. Also, learn how you can be involved in their protection. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 7pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! Store Britches: A Play Celebrating Our Appalachian Heritage: Directed by Sabrina Gray. This special historical comedy was written by Gatlinburg’s own Lula Mae Ogle and was performed for the first time in 1936. For three seasons in the 1930’s, Store Britches was utilized as a special fundraiser for the Gatlinburg Weaver’s Club. Some 80 years later, the play has been rediscovered and is produced by the Gatlinburg Garden Club as a fundraiser for the Lucinda Oakley Ogle cabin. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 7:30pm: Slow Jam. Presented by Tony Thomas and Friends. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   

Schedule for Day 2 of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2015 in the Pigeon Forge Tennessee Smokies

Sunday, January 25th 2015

As day 2 of the 2015 Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge starts, guests can look South and up from where it takes place at the LeConte Center on Teaster Lane toward the Great Smoky Mountains to see the more than 1 inch of snow along the peaks and higher elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains that just feel this weekend with more along the way today.

Though there will be lots of exciting programs to take place today for Wilderness Wildlife Weeks second day in Pigeon Forge both inside and outside. Even with the snow, it looks as though none of the guided hikes for Wilderness Wildlife Week will have to be canceled today due to snow even though Newfound Gap Road US441 is closed due to snow and ice.

So if you are in the Smokies today, beat the cold and come on down to the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge Tennessee for an entire day of learning experience and fun - for free!

• 8 to Noon: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Turn Your Photography Into Art Workshop. Presented by Karen Jones. Limit 15, ages 16+. Participants must bring own laptop with PhotoShop for step-by-step demonstration of various techniques to reinterpret photos into artistic creations. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 9 to 10am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Blooms, Birds and Butterflies. Presented by Tom and Pat Cory. This educational and entertaining photography workshop focuses on flowers, butterflies and birds, some of Tom and Pat’s favorite subjects. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 9 to 10:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Section Hiking the Appalachian Trail. Presented by Bill and Sharon Van Horn.Join Bill and Sharon as they share their experiences on section hiking the Appalachian Trail. Since 2005,they have hiked the A.T. completing it in 2013. Topics covered will include transportation, resupply, trip planning, equipment and off-trail experiences. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: LIMITED SPACE! Making a Gemstone Bracelet. Presented by LaDonna Twyman – Limit 8, ages 18+. Participants join LaDonna as she instructs them on how to make a gemstone toggle bracelet to take home with them using semi-precious stones, silver toggles and spacer beads. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 9:30 to 10:30am: Sunday Morning Sing Along. Presented by Tony Thomas. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 9:30 to 11:30am: World-Class Stream Smallmouth Bass. Presented by Greg Ward. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 9:30 to Noon: Great Photography with Any Camera, Cell Phone or Tablet. Presented by Rich Iceland. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 9:30 to 12:30pm: LIMITED SPACE! Basket Making. Presented by Theresa Tyler Limit 8. Participants will join Theresa as she teaches them the Appalachian art of basket making. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 10 to 11am: The Building of Fontana Dam in the Wilderness Slide Presentation. Presented by Bob Keim a "Dam Kid" Whose Parents Worked There. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 10 to 11am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Humor in Rural and Small Town Churches. Presented by Lee Morris. Join Lee as he shares "The Preachments" and describes and demonstrates humorous experiences encountered in rural and small town churches of America. Attendees are welcomed to share, too! Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 10:30 to 11:30am: Working with Wildflowers: A Photographer’s Delight. Presented by Jerry Whaley. Learn how Jerry uses techniques and equipment used to capture the wildflowers of the Smokies along with instruction as to how most images were captured. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 10:30 to 11:30am: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Intermediate Bird Identification: Exploring Features of "Problem" Birds Such as Sparrows, Shore birds and Raptors. Presented by Dana Ripper. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 11:30 to 12:30pm: Nature Writing for Love and Money, Part 2: The Practical Tips and More. Presented by Rob Simbeck. Join Rob as he teaches participants more practical tips related to observing and writing about nature. More depth and examples regarding the topics in part one will be discussed in this session. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• Noon to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Knoxville Origins of Japanese Stilt Grass. Presented by Nancy Dorman. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• Noon to 1pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Hawks of the Smokies. Presented by Stephen Lyn Bales. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• Noon to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Photography Hardware Calibration: Get the Most Out of Your Investment. Presented by Colby McLemore. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: HERITAGE! The White Caps and Blue Bills at the Battle of Henderson’s Spring. Presented by Don Williams. Join Don as he recounts one of Sevier County’s most brutal eras of the White Caps and Blue Bills and their epic showdown at the Battle of Henderson Springs in October of 1894. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Dos, Don’ts and Hows of Photographing Birds. Presented by Clay Thurston. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Meanderings of a Silly Man Continue! Presented by Doug Mills. Despite an intrusion of age, and courtesy of The Heartland Series, a silly man continues his meanderings with a camera in hand. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 12:30 to 1:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Appalachian Folk Hymn Tunes. Presented by Timothy Seaman. Join Timothy as he reviews the history and musical types of folk hymns from the shape-note tradition, as interpreted with instruments. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own instruments to play and sing a few, too! Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 1 to 2pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! Bodacious Cartooning for Kids Workshop. Presented by John Rose. Limit 30, ages 8+. Participants should bring own pencils and note pad to draw along! Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 1 to 2:30pm: LIMITED SPACE! Clawhammer Banjo Workshop 2. Presented by Boogertown Gap. Limited to 10 people who must bring their own clawhammer banjo tuned in open G. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 1 to 3pm: Stream-Stocked Trout Fishing. Presented by Greg Ward. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: HERITAGE! Civil War in the Mountains: Bushwhackers, Marauders, Raiders, Conscription and Divided Loyalties at the Homefront. Presented by Chris Tipton. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 1:30 to 2:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Bears on the Move: Tennessee’s Expanding Bear Population. Presented by Daryl Ratajczak. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Mindset and Techniques Behind Creating Inspiring Outdoor Photographs. Presented by Daniel Dempster. Join Daniel as he covers what is required to create outdoor images that exceed the ordinary. Topics include techniques, equipment and the mindset that goes hand-in-hand in creating beautiful landscape and nature photographs. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Writing Smoky Mountain Books. Presented by Dr. Lin Stepp. Join Dr. Stepp as she shares information on her life and writing novels based in the Great Smoky Mountains. Her program at Wilderness Wildlife Week is also the official launch site of her newest Smoky Mountain novel, Makin’ Miracles, the seventh book in the Smoky Mountain series. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 2 to 3pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Heartland Stories of Wild Critters of the Smokies! Presented by Kim Delozier and Bill Landry. Join Kim and Bill as they share and discuss different Heartland Series episodes they worked on together including wild boar, black bears, red wolf, river otters and more. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 2 to 3:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Recycle Scraps Into Rag Rugs and Trivets. Presented by Maria Holloway. Limit 15, ages 15+. Taking place in the Bob Kolb Memorial Room.
   
• 2 to 3:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! A Cat Named Stinker. Presented by Mary Phillips. Limit 30, ages 5 to 10. Participants join Mary as she continues the Tall Tales about a firefly, a boy named Booger and his faithful cat, Stinker. Follow the whippoorwill and find out how Stinker got her name and how they all became synchronous friends. Learn the black boogie waltz - draw something and learn to recognize new native plants! Program meets curriculum standards for science, literature and art. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 2 to 3:30pm: HERITAGE! Old Harp Singing. Presented by David Sarten, leader. Listen to hymns brought from the old country and tunes by early American composers as a group of regional Old Harp singers sing shaped notes (do-re-ami…) in four part harmony seated in the traditional square. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 2 to 4pm: Digital Photo Editing Made Easy. Presented by Rich Iceland. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 2:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! LIMITED SPACE! Perspective in Landscapes. Presented by William Hurst and Maurice Edwards. Limit 12, ages 18+. Participants join Maurice and Williams as they teach understanding of perspective in creating landscape drawings. Learn to apply a number of perspective techniques while creating a landscape drawing in pencil. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! KIDS’ TRACK! The Truth about Pirates. Presented by Captain John Farmer and East Tennessee Pirates Group. Attendees can have their pictures made with two pirates and learn all about pirates as they can see a replica pirate cannon and other pirate weapons. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 3 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Flying Housewife. Presented by Rosemary Deitzer. Some fifty years ago Jerrie Mock accomplished what Amelia Earhart could not – to be the first woman to fly solo around the world. Join Rosemary as she presents this remarkable story. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 3 to 4:30pm: LIMITED SPACE! Playing Mountain Dulcimer by Ear. Presented by Tim Simek. Limit to 20 Participants who must bring their own mountain dulcimer. Taking place in the South Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3:30 to 4pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! 900 Miles and Then Some: Hiking the Trails of GSMNP. Presented by Judy Bryant. Join Judy as she discusses keeping a hiking journal and answers questions about hiking all the maintained trails of GSMNP. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Understanding the Essentials of Light: A Photographer’s Guide to "Seeing" the Light and Using It To Achieve Your Photographic Intent. Presented by Douglas Hubbard. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 3:30 to 4:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Why is a Fed Bear a Dead Bear?: The Perils of Feeding a Bear. Presented by Joel Zachry. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 4 to 5pm: KIDS’ TRACK! LIMITED SPACE! The Blue and the Grey: Be a Civil War Soldier. Presented by Mike Meldrum. Limit 30 people. Taking place in the Bob Hatcher Memorial Room.
   
• 4 to 5:30pm: Old Time String Band Concert. Presented by Boogertown Gap. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Insect Pollination of Flowers. Presented by Leon Bates. Join Leon as he discusses how insect pollinators ensure biodiversity and stability of our native plant communities. This critical process will be illustrated and discussed. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 2.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: Wild Camp Cookery with Horace Kephart. Presented by Ila Hatter. Horace Kephart, author of Camping and Woodcraft, became adept at successful campfire cooking methods. Join Ila as she explains how he did it and what "wild things" he foraged for his "meat and vegetables." Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! HERITAGE! A One Man Portrayal of Elkmont’s Uncle Lem Ownby: The Last Living Resident of GSMNP. Presented by Carroll McMahan. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 4:30 to 5:30pm: NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! Photography: Art, Documentation, Fun or Profit? Presented by Clay Thurston. Join Clay as he illustrates how photography can be used for art, documentation, fun and for making money. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall B.
   
• 5 to 6:30pm: Civil War in the West, 1862. Presented by Jack Carman. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 5:30 to 6:30pm: HERITAGE! The Walker Sisters of Little Greenbrier. Presented by Robin Goddard. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   
• 6pm: Tuesday Hikes and Field Trips Sign-ups. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall A.
   
• 6 to 7pm: Lewis and Clark, Part 2: After the Expedition. Presented by Peter and Gudrun Seifert. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 3.
   
• 6 to 7pm: HERITAGE! Native American Flute Concert. Presented by Randy McGinnis. Taking place in the LeConte Hall South.
   
• 7:30pm: Slow Jam. Presented by Tony Thomas and Friends. Taking place in the North Multi-Purpose Room 1.
   
• 7:30pm: SUNDAY KEYNOTE PROGRAM! NEW Wilderness Wildlife Week Program! The Roughrider and the Tramp: The Last Night Camping at Bridalveil Meadow. Presented by Lee Stetson and Alan Sutterfield. Join John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt as they share rousing stories of bear encounters, wild horses, boat rustlers and passenger pigeons, and reveal how the American wilderness shaped these very different men. Learn how their charismatic and passionate discussions sparked a battle that resulted in the creation of Yosemite as a National Park. Taking place in the Greenbrier Hall C.
   

Volunteers Needed For Clingmans Dome Information Center

One of the greatest contributions you can make to the Great Smoky Mountains national park is your time as a park Volunteer, and right the now the National Park Service is actively looking for volunteers to staff the Clingmans Dome Information Center from April 1st through November 30th, 2014.

The volunteers need to work at the Clingmans Dome Visitor Information Center will be asked to work at least one 4 hour shift per week and are needed all days of the week with the most staffing required Friday through Sunday. Shifts are from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm and 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm.

Since Volunteers are needed to provide educational, recreational and trip planning information a basic knowledge of the Great Smoky Mountains national park and surrounding area is very helpful even though volunteers are provided orientation and training before their tour of duty.

The Clingmans Dome Information Center first came into being last year by moving the bathrooms into the Clingmans Dome parking area and converting the space into an information center where visitors could ask questions of park staff and volunteers as well as make small purchases of book, maps, tee shirts and other park related items.

If you are interested and could attend the mandatory training that will be held at the Oconaluftee Administration Building just inside the park on 441 North of Cherokee, North Carolina on Thursday, March 13, 2014, please contact Ranger Florie Takaki Monday through Friday at (828)497-1906 or by email at: Florie_Takaki@nps.gov.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Reopen by Midnight Tonight and Completely by 12 Noon.

The good news is in a nick of time the National Park was funded by both Tennessee and North Carolina for $60,100 a day for 5 days for a total of $300,500. This will keep the park open until Sunday through the first weekend of the fall peak leaf season.

Tennessee's share of the park bill dwarfs the $75,000 North Carolina is spending to open its side of the park. Though more of the GSMNP is in North Carolina, Tennessee has much higher visitation and thus stood losing far more income for its residents that depend on the park visitors and sales tax revenue for the state and nearby counties.

The bad news is it will take time to bring furloughed workers back in and turn on services such as power and water as well as remove barricades tomorrow so the national park is saying much will be open by 8 am and expect full operations back to normal by 12 noon October 16th.

The park will technically be open tonight, but most facilities such as the campgrounds and picnic areas may not be ready until noontime.

Cades Cove Loop Road and Cataloochee Valley are expected to be upon sunrise as well as some of the park roads that are presently closed.

The LeConte Lodge has always been manned, and will be ready for the public tomorrow. Call (865)429-5704 in the morning for openings.

Campers with existing reservations for any days the park is now open will be honored. It is still not clear if new reservations can be made as the reservation system may not be functional.

If the Federal shutdown is not over by Sunday, the park will be officially closed back up just before midnight on Sunday, October 20th. That is unless the states pay more to keep the GSMNP open longer.

Last update 10/15/13 7:47pm

Related Government GSMNP and BRP Closure Articles:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Will Reopen Tomorrow. - Posted 10-15-13

Great Smoky Mountains National Park May Reopen Tomorrow – Maybe - Posted 10-15-13

Government Shutdown Affecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park Day 14 - Posted 10-14-13

How Government Shutdown is Affecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-08-13

Update to Government Closure of Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-05-13

Shutdown Info Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway - Posted 10-03-13

Government Shutdown: Road + Facility Closures Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-01-13

Is Newfound Gap Road Between Cherokee and Gatlinburg Open Again?

As anyone working in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Cherokee or in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park what question they are asked most often since the huge landslide in January of this year right by mile marker 22 and they will tell you is will be a pleasure to say yes, Newfound Gap Road is open all the way from the Sugarlands all the way to Cherokee, North Carolina.

Another Major Road Closes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Due to a Washout

As the Great Smoky Mountains national park is still dealing with the huge landslide which has shut off the main road connecting Tennessee with North Carolina, US441 Newfound Gap Road, another major road running through the park was discovered to have washout damage from Little River running alongside it.

Little River Road past Metcalf bottoms just east of the Sinks had lost part of its shoulder and cracks have developed in the area prompting park officials to close Little River Road (State Road 73) between Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and the Townsend Wye.

Because of weight restrictions on the Metcalf Bottom Bridge, large RV's are unable to cross and thus to exit or enter the park through Wears Gap Road and would have to turn back.

Crews from Great Smoky Mountains national park are right now are on Little River Road and as of yet there are no estimates as to when it will reopen.

Current estimates have Newfound Gap Road reopening in May.

Update 03/26/13 9:50am
Cleanup and temporary repairs are complete. Road may be able to reopen shortly.

Update 03/26/13 10:35am
Road will reopen as soon as snowplows are finished.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Road Information

Volunteers Needed To Help Survey Tree Arthropods in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

If you love science, want to get your hands dirty, become more intimately knowledgeable and help the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, here is your chance to do something exciting and help advance science in the GSMNP.

For those who are seriously interested in helping collect specimens and data compilation on an ongoing long term basis, Discover Life in America (DLIA), the non-profit organization coordinating the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in GSMNP, will host the Tree Team Training program beginning at 9:00 am on June 18th at the Twin Creeks Nature Center just outside Gatlinburg off Cherokee Orchard Road.

For those who wish to partake in this program, you will be collecting insects, spiders and other arthropods specimens at what is considered easily accessible areas, on both Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

You will be trained and will make use of a variety of collection techniques in order to survey these animals so that not only can the vitality, but unknown ecological linkages between flora and fauna can be studied.

Registration in advance is required. You must contact Todd Witcher the executive director of DLIA, at (865)430-4757 or email him at todd@dlia.org.

New Rock Slide hits Spur Section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Foothills Parkway

Yet another rockslide just hit the spur with between 20 to 30 feet of debris being dumped on the roadway. This rockslide has occurred where traffic was moving in the Southbound lanes at the first curve past Gum Stand. It is not at where the previous rockslide on the Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge Spur has occurred.

There are no reports of injuries or property damage at this time.

Traffic is being turned around and the city of Pigeon Forge has blocked off access to the Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge Spur. Traffic on the Spur is being rerouted to the Flat Branch bridge.

A large trees is also blocking both lanes of the Foothills Parkway East and since the Great Smoky Mountains National Park personnel is tied up with the new landslide on the Spur, it will take a while to clear this road.

Road Conditions in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Bear Spray: Now Legal to Carry and Use in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Though I was waiting for months for the official announcement that bear spray would be legal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, it was a sharp reader of this web site that brought to my attention the fact that the National Park web site now states bear spray is allowed in the GSMNP.

Months ago I started and became the center of a huge controversy about bear spray when it was brought to my attention that Bear Spray was illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. Questions about misleading, conflicting and confusing visitor information as well as selective enforcement made matters worse.

Bear spray is far more effective that firearms are in a bear attack which by that way, even though there are more than 2 bear per square mile is extremely rare in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Since bear spray is far more effective than guns and the chances of collateral damage is far lower, it made perfect since to legalize bear spray since firearms will be allowed in national parks in February 2010.

While I was advised by park officials in late spring that the bear pepper spray law was going to change, I waited until the official announcement from the park to advise my readers about the change in the bear spray law as I did not know exactly when it would become legal.

No news of the change in the bear spray law was ever released publicly; instead a paragraph about bear spray and its legality and use in the Great Smoky Mountains national park was inserted in the GSMNPs hiking page.

Bear Spray (pepper spray formulated for bears) should be only used in an emergency against an attacking bear and not used to keep bear away from campsites or other place you wish to keep bear away from. Spraying an area with bear spray may even attract bears them rather then repel them as they will want to examine what the strange scent is and where it is coming from.

Bear Pepper Spray is only allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park for "the strict purpose of protection against bodily harm from aggressive wildlife". It must also contain between 1% to 2% of the active ingredients capsaicin and related capsaicinoids and be commercially manufactured and labeled as "Bear Pepper Spray".

I stumbled into something that made some people working in the park and some locals who refused to comply with the law all along unhappy. While my tenacity about getting to the bottom of this matter may have angered some, they do know my love for the park and how resource protection and public safety are for more important to me than not making waves. I hope that those who I may have aggravated understand my good attentions.

Though I plan to never use it, bear spray will now be part of my hiking gear. I hope that people who will purchase bear spray will learn about it, try it and only use it when absolutely necessary (which in the GSMNP should be almost never).

Just because you are allowed to have a can of bear pepper spray when hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains national park does not mean that you can ignore food storage rules, comply with staying away 50 yards away from bear or using common sense around wild animals.

Just as bear spray is now legal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, if abused the park may take this right away just as they had to remove chain link fences from shelters as people abused the fences and would throw food out for bears. Be responsible!

Related Stores about Bear Spray and Black Bear

• Bear Spray is now legal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Black Bear encounter
• Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
• Bear become bolder in the GSMNP and questions remain about bear spray
• Clarification finally made by Great Smoky Mountains national park on Bear Spray
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Official Statement on Bear Spray
• Black Bear in the Great Smoky Mountains Safety Information

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rededication Tickets Are Sold Out

The free tickets to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th anniversary rededication to take place at Newfound Gap on September 2nd 2009 are already all gone.

As we predicted there was an enormous response by the public to get their hands on these coveted tickets for this historic event and those who have already contacted the National Park for tickets either via email or by phone will be notified if they will get tickets to the event that will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Unfortunately just because you requested tickets via Email or by telephone before the GSMNP stop taking any more requests does not guarantee you will be able to get tickets. Some news sources reported 2,000 tickets were available to the public but the actual number is far lower based upon the large dignitary and guest list as well as media which will be covering the event.

Little River Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains partially closed until Tuesday

Try as they might the crews from the Great Smoky Mountains national park along with the help of Pigeon Forge construction company Blalock & Sons Inc will not be able to one the section of the Little River Closed by last week’s rock slides.

It is now looking like with all of the additional lose material that needs to stabilized and removed from the roadway the stretch of Little River road between the Elkmont campgrounds and the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area will not be open until sometime late Tuesday the earliest.

Anyone trying to get to Cades Cove or Townsend from either Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge will need to take Wears Valley Road (US 321) at traffic light 3 in Pigeon Forge.

Laurel Falls and Stony Ridge wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountsins national park update

Time and rain have been huge helps in the battling the 2 wildfires burning in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Presently the Laurel Falls fire which is East of Elkmont and West of the Sugarlands TN is still burning but is more than 75% contained.

As long as conditions keep improving as they have the past 2 hours we may see the following closed hiking trails reopen as soon as late this afternoon:

• Cove Mountain Hiking Trail
• Laurel Falls Hiking Trail
• Little Brier Gap
• Little Roundtop Hiking Trail
• Little Greenbrier Hiking Trail
• Metcalf Bottoms Hiking Trail

At this point 267 acres have been burned by the Laurel Falls wild fire and no structural damage or specimen old growth trees have been damaged.

The Stony Ridge Wildfire has already consumed 1,557 acres and is now 60% contained.

The only pubic access areas closed is a section of the Bluer Ridge parkway from Soco Road - US 19 to Newfound Gap Road - US 441 just a short distance north of the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains national park in Cherokee North Carolina.

Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal to have in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

With more than 2 black bear per square mile and around 900 miles of hiking trails and roadways in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, your chances of having a bear encounter up close or from a distance are quite good. Because of this many hikers and campers carry cans of bear pepper spray they have purchased from either outfitters or online.

Regardless of what these stores or web sites are telling you, it is ILLEGAL to carry, posses or use any form of bear spray, pepper spray, mace or any other irritant gas spray in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. This is not just a "park rule" but a weapons law on federal property - not something you want to break at any cost.

Don't kill the messenger as I was in complete shock when I learned of this through the kindness of a park employee who read on one of my web sites my recommendation to purchase and carry bear spray when hiking or camping in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

It's pretty obvious to anyone who hikes or goes camping in the Great Smoky Mountains national park that it is against the law to have a loaded firearm in the park. There are signs at every trailhead and this general rule - make that law - applies to most national parks.

The fact that guns are prohibited from the Great Smoky Mountains national park also appears on the back of park maps, in written park literature, is stated in lectures given by both park personal and volunteers and on the parks web site.

What is virtually impossible for the average park visitor to find anywhere is the fact that you can not carry bear spray or on your person - that includes in your backpack while in the park.

Even more confusing is the fact that if you do a general search on the Great Smoky Mountains national park web site under "National Park Service for the term "bear spray" it describes the use of bear spray in other national parks.

Yesterday I went to a handful of local outfitters or their web sites in the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville area and they all have bear pepper spray for sale. When I asked not one told me I could not carry bear spray in the park.

As a mater of fact one of the best known outfitters in Gatlinburg whose store is so close it is almost in the GSM national park has on their web site "Bear Spray & Personal Protection For A Safe Hike In Great Smoky Mountains National Park Or In Your Own Neighborhood".

To be further confusing many other companies online, web sites, hiker forums etc all advocate the use of Bear Pepper Spray in national parks - often specifically referencing the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

As mater of fact it is also used as a reason why guns should not be needed against a bear attack in a national park. I myself recommended it many times as a viable non lethal alternative to guns with a far lower chance of serious collateral damage to others.

I see Appalachian Trail through hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains national park as a group unknowingly breaking this law quite regularly and since their travels take them through various jurisdictions with varying laws they are at a greater risk of being caught up in breaking this weapons law on federal property.

In case you are wondering what the exact law is and if it has been misinterpreted by me here it is:

TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 2_RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION--Table of Contents
Sec. 2.4 Weapons, traps and nets.

(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and parts 7 (special regulations) and 13 (Alaska regulations), the following are prohibited:
(i) Possessing a weapon, trap or net
(ii) Carrying a weapon, trap or net
(iii) Using a weapon, trap or net
Definition of a weapon is described below:

TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 1_GENERAL PROVISIONS--Table of Contents

Sec. 1.4 What terms do I need to know?
Weapon means a firearm, compressed gas or spring-powered pistol or rifle, bow and arrow, crossbow, blowgun, speargun, hand-thrown spear, slingshot, irritant gas device, explosive device, or any other implement designed to discharge missiles, and includes a weapon the possession of which is prohibited under the laws of the State in which the park area or portion thereof is located.

If you have purchased bear pepper spray through one of my web sites for use only in the GSMNP and you wish to return it, contact me through the site and I will arrange for you to be able to return it for a full refund.

If you own bear spray, don't bring it into the Great Smoky Mountains national park and I suggest you call any other place you wish to carry it before you bring it there.

If you are not happy with the law banning the use of Bear Spray in the GSMNP, don't harass the park employees, complain to your congressman or Washington.

As for my recommendation to the national park, I would consider adding a written notice that bear spray or any irritant gas device is illegal to posses in the GSMNP on:

• Park bulletin boards - the first one being at the beginning of the AT in Fontana.
• The black bear page on the parks web site
• Printing it on future bear, hiking and camping literature
• On the back of future issues of park maps where other park rules are located right next to where it says firearms are prohibited.

There are questions as to the effectiveness of Bear Spray and well as potential safety issues for those not properly trained in its use.

I also as that if you have a hiking or camping forum you post in, blog, MySpace or Facebook page you let others know about this law by linking to this page at:

http://yoursmokies.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-bear-pepper-spray-legal-or-illegal.html

As always comments are not only welcome but encouraged.

Related News Stories

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Black Bear encounter
• Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
• Bear become bolder in the GSMNP and questions remain about bear spray
• Clarification finally made by Great Smoky Mountains national park on Bear Spray
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Official Statement on Bear Spray
• Black Bear in the Great Smoky Mountains Safety Information