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Photo by Doug McFall
Send a free gift of the Smokies to all your friends via our new Facebook app A Day in the Smokies.
They'll thank you for it! Email a favorite hike, a beautiful view, a funny critter, and more.
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Take a Virtual Field Trip Online
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Students and teachers can now enjoy a fun, educational online visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
See a wild bear surprise the rangers by wandering onto the film set during a lesson.
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Park Visitor Dies In Stream
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Cindy Hill, 45, of Columbia, MD, died on December 21 of injuries sustained while day hiking in the Greenbrier area of the park. Ms. Hill and her husband were attempting to pose for a self-timed photograph amid a snowy winter scene.
They went a short way into a stream, an offshoot of the Little Pigeon River, and Ms. Hill fell on slippery rocks and went into the fast moving water. Her husband removed her from the water and administered CPR, but she was unresponsive. The victim was later pronounced dead at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, TN.
There have been 8 other fatalities in the park this year. Most are due to car accidents, but this year one person drowned and another died from a fall. Park officials perform about 100 search and rescue missions every year.
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Infant Salamander Togs & 25% Off Water Bottles
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Brand new infant onesie in pink or blue, sizes 6, 12, or 18 months. The front is colorfully decorated with salamanders, in honor of GSMNP, the salamander capital of the world.
GSMNP logo water bottles are 25% off.
 Shipments from the online store will be delayed until January 6 while we take inventory.
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Growing Grasslands in the Greenhouse
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 As winter comes to the Smokies, Greenhouse Manager Cherie Cordell goes inside to plant seeds from native grasses collected this fall in Cades Cove.
The seedlings will be transplanted next spring to Cove fields.
This effort is part of a plan for restoring Cades Cove by converting the non-native fescue fields into native grassland once again.
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| Our New Business Members |
 Photo by Valerie Polk2009
is almost over! The park and GSMA
had a great year and we're looking forward to another good year in 2010. Thanks to all of our supportive Members
we've been able to provide the park with over $1.8 million in cash and
in-kind services. We are grateful to
all our Members for their continued commitment to the park and ask that when
you visit the park you also support our Business Members.
Below we've listed some of our new Business Members. You can see all of
GSMA's Business Members by clicking on Our Business Members. To see the
discounts offered to GSMA members go to our website and click on Discounts & Freebies. Then
pick your favorite category: Lodging, B & B, Restaurants, and many more.
If you'd like to have your business included in this announcement and on our
website, contact Westy Fletcher at 423.487.3131 or at Westy@GSMAssoc.org
TC Environmental
7024
E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy
Townsend TN 37882
tel: 856.448.8880 Shannon Skidmore
email: tcenviron7024@aol.com
www.tricountyportables.com
Timbers Restaurant
8123
E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy
Townsend TN 37882
tel: 865.448.6838 Doris Bailey
email: doris.timbers@gmail.com
Mr. Tablecloth and More
205
Historic Nature Trail
Gatlinburg TN 37738
tel: 865.430.3081 Gerry Martin
email: mrtable@mrtablecloth-gatlinburg.com
www.mrtablecloth-gatlinburg.com
GSMA
members in good standing will receive a 10% discount
River Sports Outfitters, Inc.
2918
Sutherland Ave.
Knoxville TN 37919
tel: 865.523.0066 Ed McAlister
email: ed@riversportsoutfitters.com
www.riversportsoutfitters.com
Oak Haven Resort & Spa
1947
Old Knoxville Hwy
Sevierville TN 37876
tel: 800.652.2611 Reservations
email: reservations@oakhavenresort.com
www.oakhavenresort.com
Smoky Mountain Resorts
P.O.
Box 648
Pigeon Forge TN 37868
tel: 800.523.3919 Brian Lippi
email: reservations@smokymountainresorts.com
www.smokymountainresorts.com
Timber Tops Luxury Cabin Rentals
1440
Upper Middle Creek Road
Suite 204
Sevierville TN 37876
tel: 865/429-0831 Heather Caldwell
email: hcaldwell@timbertops.net
www.yourcabin.com
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First Wildflower Report
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Okay, it was only one
small Long Spurred Violet found blooming last week on Chestnut Top by dedicated hiker and park volunteer Tom Harrington. But we were as excited as Tom to see a spring wildflower
in bloom before Christmas!
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Park Visitation Up
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Park visitation in 2009 was approximately 9.4 million people (the best year since 2000).
Since November the increase occurred mostly via the Gatlinburg Entrance due in part to the I-40 closure following a landslide.
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Whooo...
whooo...
Who Gives a Hoot?
Photo by Donna Eaton
 Is it a Great Horned
Owl, a Barred Owl, a Northern Saw-whet Owl, or an Eastern Screech Owl? Or none of the above?
What
luck will you have finding these denizens of the night?
Join us
for an Owl Prowl and find out!
Join former park ranger
Butch McDade on Saturday, January 23 for a nighttime adventure into the elusive
world of these amazing birds.
Meet
at Sugarlands Visitor Center at 7:00 pm.
Bundle up with winter clothing, wear hiking boots or athletic shoes with
tread, and bring flashlights or headlights... maybe even a rain parka, just in
case.
Please register in advance
by calling 865-436-7318, extension 222 or 254.
There is a small $5.00 fee to help cover the presenter's fee.
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A Year in the Smokies
Video Diary for 2009
Experience a year in the Smokies, a short film that takes a look at some of the most beautiful moments in the park from 2009. Film by Valerie Polk.
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Life on LeConte
The Winter Caretaker's Scrapbook
 It's cold outside, but warm inside.
Doug McFall is the winter caretaker of LeConte Lodge atop Mt. LeConte. You'll love his blog.
Doug uses a solar-powered broadband connection to a laptop to keep everyone up-to-date on his experiences snowed in at his log cabin.
Both photos are by Doug McFall.
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Wilderness Wildlife Week 2010
January 9-16 in Pigeon Forge
The 20th annual Wilderness Week extravaganza will be held at the Music Road Hotel & Convention Center. More than 100 experts will share their knowledge of the outdoors in more than 175 seminars, lectures, and hands-on workshops. These will include fishing, using a map and compass, musical and cultural history, traditional and modern storytelling, plant and animal identification, dowsing, photography, clogging lessons, and much more.
There will be more than 50 guided walks and hikes such as easy hikes for families, moderate walks to waterfalls or trekking with llamas, and strenuous hikes to Rocky Top, Cove Mountain, or Sugarland Mountain. And, of course, there will be live music from authentic Smoky Mountain musicians.
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Cades Cove Photo Wins Ansel Adams Gallery Contest
Sparks Lane by David Sauro
A photo taken in GSMNP won the Grand Prize in the Ansel Adams Gallery sponsored National Park Photography Contest. Congratulations to David Sauro. David's terrific shot from the Smokies won top honors
over hundreds of spectacular images from all the other national
parks. Thanks to Jim McFarland for letting us know.
Click here to check out the other winners.
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100 Mile an Hour Winds, Flooding & Landslides!
Cold, Snow & Rain
We've had torrential rain causing flooding, hurricane winds blowing trees down, and 32 inches of snow on Mt. LeConte in recent weeks. At times nearly every road in the park has been closed.
For up-to-date information, visitors can call (865) 436-1200 for a road conditions report.
I-40 between Tennessee and Asheville, NC (near mile
marker 3, very close to the Tennessee state line) is blocked because of
a huge rockslide. Find alternate routes if you were planning to travel
this stretch of I-40.
The Gatlinburg Bypass and the Spur will
have periodic single lane closures to clear vegetation from November
2-January 15. The work will be suspended during times of heaviest
traffic.
Clingmans Dome road is closed until summer as is Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and the parking area for the Sinks.
The National Park Service lists road closures on their website also.
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Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary
Begins in 2010
Our neighbor is celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2010.
Check out the special events, learn Parkway history, and enjoy photos at their website.
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GSMA Looks Forward to
Increasing Membership in 2010
What Programs Would You Like?
GSMA Membership Department had a fantastic year and raised $450,000 for the park! So, with 2010 just a day away we're revving-up to shoot for half a million dollars in the coming
year!
This is not an easy task, but you can
certainly help out by considering gift memberships for that special
someone, taking full advantage of matching gifts if your company participates
in such a program, and by recommending a GSMA membership, with all its benefits,
to a colleague or friend.
The Membership Department works to
provide a monthly program for our members and their guests. During the winter, these programs
will be mostly indoor events, but once the weather becomes more cooperative
we'll start offering outdoor hikes such as
birding, salamander forays, history romps, wildflower walks, and more.
Feel free to make a recommendation
for a hike or program and we'll try to accommodate your request.
You can reach Judy or Marti at 865-436-7318, extension 222 or 254. Any fees involved go toward
compensating our program leaders.
Wishing you all a very Happy and
Healthy New Year!
Judy & Marti
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Beneficial Beetles on the Loose
Help for Hemlock Trees
More biocontrol beetles means more protection for the park's hemlock trees and Laricobius nigrinus season has just begun. "Lari," as vegetation managers call the beetle, feed on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.
Two weeks ago crews released 300 "Laris" near the Trillium Gap Trail, where they are monitoring an area of chemically treated hemlocks. University of Tennessee entomologists under the direction of Professor Jerome Grant have surveyed biocontrol release areas in the park since 2002 and are finding some of the same species that were previously released. This means the biocontrol beetles are reproducing in the small trees even in areas where the mature trees have declined or died.
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15% Discount
for GSMA Members!
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All Great Smoky Mountains Association Members support the park with
every purchase they make while enjoying a 15% discount plus many more
benefits such as a free subscription to Smokies Life magazine, Smokies
Guide newspaper, Bearpaw newsletter, Cub Report monthly e-newsletter, and discounts at many other parks!
A new Members Only area of the website is being developed where special offers and information will be available via password!
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Gift Memberships
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Make a charitable donation, support the park, and give a present all at the same time!
Click here to view the possibilities.
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Contact Membership@GSMAssoc.org
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Any Questions?
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For questions about online purchases, click here and Doug will help you.
For questions about membership, click here and Judy or Marti will help you.
For questions about business membership, click here and Westy will help you.
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