Smoky Mountains News

Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park can rest easier this fall: John and Betsy Crawford have their backs. Together, Mr. Crawford, a retired United States postal inspector, and Ms. Crawford, a retired nurse, make up one of the park’s two Visitor Assistance Patrols, roving teams that crisscross the area in specially marked Toyota Priuses to help those in need.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers are advising visitors that Sparks Lane, a gravel roadway that cuts across the middle of Cades Cove, is expected to remain closed until Saturday, Oct. 25. The road has been closed since Sept. 2 while a contractor replaces two large culverts and improves drainage along the road.

Six Pigeon Forge, Tennesse special events, including Wilderness Wildlife Week in January and Dolly's Homecoming Parade with Smokies-born entertainer Dolly Parton as grand marshal in May, are on the official calendar of Great Smoky Mountains National Park's 75th anniversary.

Dolly Parton, who often refers to her Smoky Mountains upbringing, will serve as the ambassador for the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There will be events throughout 2009 celebrating Congress' approval to form the park on June 15, 1934

Since imported European wild boars escaped from a fenced North Carolina hunting preserve in 1920, they have called the Smoky Mountains home. Currently the wild hog population throughout the Great Smokies National Park is estimated at 500 to 1,000, according to Park Information Officer Nancy Gray.

In the banquet that is our national parks, the Great Smoky Mountains is the casserole—less thrilling but more filling than more glamorous offerings. Established as an economic engine for a depressed region, the Smokies generates more local jobs and dollars and serves far more visitors than any other national park. And, like most casseroles, the Smokies is both created and bound by tradition.

Officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park say visitation at its main entrances is down 5 percent so far this year, largely because of gas prices that spiked during the season.

Beginning on the second Monday of September, one fish population in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is doomed. Wildlife officials will start using a special chemical to kill off the Rainbow and Brown varieties of trout. The eight mile stretch of the Little River they currently live in is known as the Lynn Camp Prong and located near Tremont.

Pity the poor planners in Gatlinburg. Just days after the Gatlinburg Partnership Council released the results of a months-long planning process that called for the greening of Gatlinburg, preserving mountain views, authentically representing Gatlinburg's place, history and culture, and developing more attractive buildings and public realm, a longtime benefactor announced it is selling out.

Pity the poor planners in Gatlinburg. Just days after the Gatlinburg Partnership Council released the results of a months-long planning process that called for the greening of Gatlinburg, preserving mountain views, authentically representing Gatlinburg's place, history and culture, and developing more attractive buildings and public realm, a longtime benefactor announced it is selling out.

According to the National Park Service, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited national park in the country. The Smokies are filled with wildlife, waterfalls, and historic buildings. While all of these are definitely sights worth seeing, one of the main attractions comes during fall when the Smoky Mountains show off their artwork in the form of beautiful scenery, inspirational music and traditional crafts.

Park rangers are helping a local sheriff in searching the west end of the Smokies for a missing ATV rider. Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers are helping Blount County deputies search for 51-year-old Michael Hearon of Tallassee.

The National Park Service has started a website for visitors with disabilities and other special needs to help them find accessible trails, programs and activities at national parks. The website at www.nps.gov/pub_aff/access/index.htm is called "National Parks: Accessible to Everyone."

The Lamar Alexander springtail (Cosberella lamaralexanderi) is a small, insectlike creature patterned with calico dots. Named for the senior senator from Tennessee, it is partial to dead leaves and plays a vital part in the whole forest food web. And here is the clincher: Until 2006, the Lamar Alexander springtail was completely unknown.

The news that an 86-pound black bear attacked and mauled an eight-year-old boy in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Monday evening, August 11, is enough to strike fear in the hearts of parents across the country.