SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS

 May

                    2014

 

  

Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks.  It's just a matter of how you view them.
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee State Parks Announce Guided Tour Packages for the 2014 Season 

 

Tennessee State Parks is excited to announce that guided tour packages are available for visitors. Guided waterfall tours, Tennessee Civil War tours and outdoor adventure packages will begin in April and continue through the fall.

 

The reservation deadline is two weeks prior to each tour. Guided tour packages include:

 

Waterfalls Tour

Waterfall tours are available April 28-30, May 12-14 and June 9-11. The all-inclusive package, $249 per person, includes the tour, lodging, meals, interpretive programming and site visit transportation. The three-day tour will include educational seminars and interpretive guidance and will focus on the beauty and history of many of Tennessee's largest waterfalls, including Burgess Falls, Cummins Falls and the six waterfalls of Fall Creek Falls. Each evening will be spent at Fall Creek Falls State Park, with day trips to Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls. To make reservations for a guided waterfall tour, contact Connie Reece or Linda Scarbrough at 1-800-250-8610.

 

Tennessee Civil War Tour

Tennessee Civil War tours are available May 1-5 and October 30-November 3. The all-inclusive package, $549 per person, includes the tour, lodging, meals, interpretive programming and site visit transportation. TN State Parks Chief Historian Ward Weems will provide educational programming for the five-day tour, which is ideal for the Civil War enthusiast. Details and sights of the significant Civil War battles fought throughout Western Tennessee and North Mississippi will be provided through site visits to Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Parkers Crossroads Battlefield, Shiloh National Military Park, Davis Bridge/Corinth Mississippi Battlefields and Johnsonville State Historic Park. Two evenings will be spent at Paris Landing State Park and two evenings will be spent at Pickwick Landing State Park. To make reservations for a Civil War tour, contact Kristi McClelland at 1-800-250-8614.

 

Outdoor Adventure Package

An outdoor adventure package is available June 22-27. The all-inclusive package, $499 per person, includes lodging, meals and site visit transportation. Participants will be guided through one of three action-packed five-day courses, including rock climbing and rappelling, flat-water and advanced white-water paddling or a three-day, two-night wilderness backpacking trip. Regardless of adventure choice, each evening will be spent at Fall Creek Falls. The adventure package also includes a guest speaker, a movie night and group seminars highlighting wilderness ethics and survival and leave-no-trace principles with hands-on education and awareness. To make reservations, contact Connie Reece or Linda Scarbrough at 1-800-250-8610.

 

For more information on the upcoming guided tours, visit http://tnstateparks.com/about/tennessee-state-park-vacation-packages.  

 

Tennessee's 54 state parks offer diverse natural, recreational and cultural experiences for individuals, families, or business and professional groups. State park features range from pristine natural areas to 18-hole championship golf courses. The Tennessee State Parks system was established through legislation in 1937 and today there is a state park within an hour's drive of just about anywhere in the state. For more information about Tennessee State Parks, please visit http://tnstateparks.com/. For a free brochure about Tennessee State Parks, call 1-888-867-2757.

        
TWRA Announces Availability of 2014-15 Grant Dollars to Assist With Habitat Protection Program

 

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) announces the availability of grant dollars to assist cities, schools, community organizations, civic groups, watershed organizations, and conservation groups, etc., with stream clean-up projects and planting projects during the 2014-15 fiscal year.

 

Five grants, at $1,000 each, are available for each of TWRA's four regional Aquatic Habitat Protection projects (a total of $5,000 per region).  The funds will be obligated as grants, so the grantee must have a nonprofit tax number. The projects are to be completed, the money spent, and a report submitted by June 30, 2015. TWRA will accept project proposals through June 15, 2014.

 

The grant money could be used to buy supplies such as rakes, work gloves, and garbage bags. Also, it could be used to pay disposal fees for solid waste and tire removal or to provide promotional items like project advertisement or T shirts and refreshments for volunteer support.  

Grant proposals should include the applicant organization's name, tax ID number, address, phone, and name of a contact person authorized to enter into contractual agreement on behalf of the organization.  The proposal should also include the name of the stream, county or counties involved, and the project area and description.

 

Contact TWRA's David McKinney at (615) 781-6577 or by email at Dave.McKinney@tn.gov or Della Sawyers at (615) 781-6577 or by email at della-sawyers@tn.gov with any questions.

 

       

  
 
TDEC Announces Lifting of Little Pigeon River Water Contact Advisory
  

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau announces the lifting of a water contact advisory of the Little Pigeon River, downstream of Sevierville in Sevier County.

 

Water contact advisories have also been lifted for several small tributaries to the West Prong of the Little Pigeon, including Gnatty Branch, Baskins Creek, King Branch, Roaring Fork and Holy Branch. The remaining water contact advisories on the West Prong Little Pigeon River, plus Dudley Creek and Beech Creek, will remain in place while additional pathogen testing is performed during the summer of 2014. 

 

"I am pleased to announce that due to the efforts of many people in Sevier County, including state, county, municipal governments and the National Park Service, many of the long-standing water quality issues that led to the original advisory have been resolved," Martineau said. "As a result, water quality is greatly improved and the department no longer considers the contact warnings to be necessary. Progress continues on streams that need additional improvement."

 

The Tennessee Water Quality Control Act requires that the department post signs and inform the public when bacteria in water or contaminants in sediment or fish tissue cause public heath to be unduly at risk from exposure. In 1993, elevated fecal coliform levels were found in the Little Pigeon River downstream of Sevierville, the West Prong Little Pigeon downstream of Gatlinburg and within Pigeon Forge, plus multiple tributaries. The sources of the bacteria were thought to be, depending on the location, overflows from municipal sewage treatment facilities and collection systems, failing, improperly-sited and concentrated septic tanks and the direct connection of household wastewater to streams. 

 

Once these problems were identified, local city and county officials took the lead in identifying and resolving problem areas. The City of Sevierville upgraded their sewage treatment plant and moved the outfall from the Little Pigeon River to the French Broad River, a much larger body of water. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg worked to locate and eliminate improper sewer connections and leaks from pipes. State and county officials walked streams to look for "straight pipes" of household wastes into streams and to spot septic tanks in need of rehabilitation. 

 

Since some impacted portions of the West Prong and its tributaries were within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the National Park Service was very active in the process to plan and implement the monitoring of pathogen levels. With assistance from the City of Gatlinburg, the Park Service worked with the Dudley Creek Stable concessionaire to install a new wash rack for the horses and connect it to the Gatlinburg sewer system. In addition, they moved a one-mile section of riding trail away from Duds Branch.
  

              
  

2014 Great American Cleanup

 

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