Great Smoky Mountains National Park Podcasts & Blog » Ranger’s Work is Never Done http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog Enjoy the Smokies Courtesy of the Great Smoky Mountains Association! Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:38:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Waiting for Wannetta… http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/waiting-for-wannetta/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/waiting-for-wannetta/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:20:03 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1485 Dec 3 Poinsettias   December 3 is a special day at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s the day that Wannetta Johnson brings a poinsettia to Park Headquarters. Click here or on the photo to find out why she has made this special trip every year for the past 35 years.

Closed captioning is available for this video by clicking the caption button in the lower right-hand corner of the video controls. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/waiting-for-wannetta/feed/ 1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Meet the Saviors of the Park’s Hemlock Trees! http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/meet-the-saviors-of-the-parks-hemlock-trees/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/meet-the-saviors-of-the-parks-hemlock-trees/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:42:51 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=30 Whether you realize it or not, Eastern Hemlock trees likely had a profound impact on you during your visit to the Smokies:

That shady green forest you drive through between Gatlinburg and Sugarlands Visitor Center? Hemlock trees!

Those gently drooping boughs that arched over you while you dipped your feet into the icy river in Greenbrier? Hemlock trees!

The trees with delicate, tiny needles that you walk among on almost every trail in the Smokies, that you see on almost every hillside… Hemlock trees!

But the quintessential Smokies’ tree is being killed by a non-native insect that’s no bigger than the dot at the end of this sentence. Saving the trees is a complex problem, involves a lot of sweat and effort, and some interesting biology too.

I’ve put together a 3-part film, posted below, to explain what the problem is, and what’s being done to save the trees. Click each photo to play its film.

Part I: The Problem
hemlock intro

Part II: Soil Drenching
soil drenching

Part II: Beetles
beetles

]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/meet-the-saviors-of-the-parks-hemlock-trees/feed/ 1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Cool Digs http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cool-digs/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cool-digs/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:17:58 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=28 I used to dream about discovering Incan gold when I was a little kid… and then I took an archaeology class during high school and realized there was NO WAY I had the patience to slowly scrape dirt away and meticulously record where it came from. In six weeks of excavating, I also found nothing, and suffered from a lot of poison ivy.

But filming archaeologists is pretty fun, and they seem to enjoy what they’re doing… especially when they’re actually finding interesting Cherokee artifacts! Click the photo below to hear about the major dig site of the summer!
digging

]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cool-digs/feed/ 1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Not Your Average Bunch of Fishermen! http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/not-your-average-bunch-of-fishermen/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/not-your-average-bunch-of-fishermen/#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:50:36 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=23 Don’t ever mix electricity and water… unless you’re a professional with the national park’s fisheries division and have a very thick pair of rubber gloves.  

fisheries crew

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