August 2018
News and Happenings from
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fun Fact About Hellbenders: " Known as an indicator species, hellbenders are only found in fast-moving, clean waterways. It is a habitat specialist and has adapted to a specific niche within its environment." – from "Benders of Hell" by Amanda Womac, Vol. 11, #2, Smokies Life
15 Smokies employees receive
DOI's Valor Award
During the 73rd annual Department of Interior Honor Awards Convocation on July 4 in Washington, D.C., 15 Great Smoky Mountains National Park employees were awarded the department's highest honor – the Valor Award. The Valor Award is granted to employees who demonstrate unusual courage involving a high degree of personal risk in the face of danger and risk their lives while attempting to save the life of another.

As smoke and soot from the Chimneys 2 Fire filled the air on November 28, 2016, winds ranging up to 90 miles an hour hurled branches and burning embers on park staff. They were exposed to snapping trees and falling live power lines while responding to a historic wildfire. Despite these dangers, these employees  forged ahead.

"Each of these individuals used their training, experience and dedication to personal preparedness for emergencies; assessed the risk; made appropriate decisions; and was responsible for heroic efforts that may have saved the lives of hundreds of visitors and residents fleeing the wildfire," said GSMNP Superintendent Cassius Cash.

Receiving the Valor Award from DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke were Josh Baldwin, Jim Cannon, Matt Crabtree, Andrew Herrington, Ryan Howell, Adam Hudson, Will Jaynes, John Kissner, Rob Klein, Stoney Mulford, Stephen Roper, Jamie Sanders, Keith P. Schumann, Heath Soehn and Ryan Williamson.

“No one asked that night what needed to be done. They just did it,” said District Park Ranger Jared St. Claire.
Dome Tower
renovation complete
Park visitors can once again climb the observation tower atop Clingmans Dome now that repairs of deteriorated areas have been completed. This work was made possible through a $250,000 Partners in Preservation grant in 2016. Funds were received by the Friends of the Smokies on behalf of the park.
Straddling the North Carolina-Tennessee state line at 6,643 feet, the tower is a prominent landmark and destination as the highest point in the park. The observation tower is a precedent-setting design of the National Park Service’s Mission 66 program, which transformed park planning, management and architecture, and fundamentally altered the visitor experience in national parks.

Since 1959, millions of visitors have climbed the tower to see distances of up to 100 miles over the surrounding mountains and valleys. This recently completed preservation work will ensure that visitors continue to experience this unique structure spiraling up from the highest point in the park. 
Two chances to meet
Willa of the Wood author
Asheville, N.C.-based author Robert Beatty, who penned the popular Serifina series set in the Biltmore House and brought to life Willa of the Wood , will present two programs based on his newest character this month in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Park visitors are invited to celebrate with Beatty this #1 New York Times best-selling novel. Willa of the Wood is the story of an orphaned forest girl who lives deep in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1900. O ne of the last members of an ancient race of forest people who live in tune with the trees and animals, Willa spends her days and nights foraging from the forest and scavenging from the log cabins of her greatest enemies, the axe-wielding “newcomers.” Through a series of action-packed encounters and an unexpected kindness, Willa begins to realize that both the newcomers and her own people are not what she’s always been told, setting in motion her quest for a new home and a new sense of belonging in a changing world.

These special author events will include a reading and Q&A, a book signing, and lots of free Willa/Serafina swag. Live creatures from Willa's world, including birds of prey from the  Smoky Mountain Raptor Center  and a "gray wolf" (a rescued wolf-dog cross) from  Wildefell Wolves, will also make an appearance.

The Oconaluftee Visitor Center event gets underway on the porch at 9 a.m., followed at 1 p.m. with a similar event in the auditorium at Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Park visitors will have two chances to meet Willa of the Wood author Robert Beatty in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on August 11. In addition to an appearance at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the morning, he'll stop in at Sugarlands Visitor Center later the same day.

All sales of Willa of the Wood through GSMA will support Great Smoky Mountains Association's work to preserve and protect this national park. For more information, call 865.436.7318, Ext. 226.
GSMA authors help ensure Willa of the Wood 's authenticity

Discovering historical and biological accuracies about a place is easy when you ask the area experts. That’s exactly what Asheville, N.C.-based author Robert Beatty did when he consulted two Great Smoky Mountains Association authors for his latest New York Times #1 best seller,  Willa of the Wood .

Steve Kemp worked for GSMA for 30 years and authored several books and articles, including  Trees of the Smokies We’re Going to the Mountains and  Who Pooped in the Park . Janet Rock recently retired from a long career as the Smokies’ park botanist and is co-author of  Wildflowers of the Smokies . Kemp and Rock also happen to be married.

“Janet and I were flattered to be asked to work with Robert Beatty on his new series of books set in the Great Smoky Mountains,” Kemp said. The first installment in the series of two books,  Willa of the Wood , debuted July 10 at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
#YearoftheBird:
Birds of Prey Quiz
Lovers of our planet's oceans are most likely familiar with The Discovery Channel's Shark Week programming, which each summer features stories devoted to the predators of the deep blue seas.

The Smokies, too, are home to a specific class of predators known as birds of prey. In honor of the Year of the Bird (and because predators have been on our minds), we bring you a revitalized quiz from several years back. This one features our feathered friends with razor-sharp talons, skin-piercing beaks, and bullet-like flights that can kill.

Our lucky winner this month will receive a copy of Birds of the Smokies and our Birds and Birding brochure . To qualify, your quiz answers must be submitted by midnight August 24. Good luck!
The Barred Owl is one of our park's predators in the air.



Congratulations to May Vance of Indiana for winning last month's quiz.
Butterfly Dance in Late Summer
Swallowtails, fritillaries, monarchs and skippers – late summer is a wondrous time of colorful wildflowers and the butterflies that visit them! School may be starting back for some, but these butterflies are fluttering reminders that summer isn't quite over yet, and there is always something incredible to see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Stop for a while and watch the butterflies... Click above to see this graceful Butterfly Dance by Valerie Polk.
Little Sluice of Heaven
Hazel Creek Trail
By Dana Murphy

A lot can be said about hiking the easy grade of Hazel Creek, so named for the abundance of hazel trees that line its banks. But first you have to get there. 

Hiking Hazel Creek Trail requires equal parts planning, execution and trust. Planning is easy. You and your fellow hikers just need to agree on a date and time to commence your adventure. With that minor detail settled, execution begins when you catch the boat shuttle for the 30-minute ride across the western edge of Lake Fontana ....
*Dry Sluice: Named for a small hollow or valley called a sluice, which has a spring-fed stream that sinks beneath the surface for several hundred yards before re-emerging. Hence, the upper part of the sluice is generally dry. - From  Place Names of the Smokies
Hope for Hemlocks
By Frances Figart

The Smokies’ forests help to provide clean air and clean water and support healthy wildlife inside the park and out. One of the most important of our tree species, eastern hemlock, has been under attack for several decades from a non-native insect. 

Jesse Webster, a National Park Service forester in the vegetation branch, has been coordinating the park’s hemlock conservation program for 15 years. He will speak on “Problems and Solutions with our Hemlocks” at 1 p.m. Friday, August 17, as part of Discover Life in America’s Science at Sugarlands series.

FF: What are the main challenges your team is facing? 

JW: Eastern hemlock, an ecological foundation species in the eastern forest, is being driven to extinction by a non-native insect, hemlock woolly adelgid ( A. tsugae).  HWA is originally from Japan and made its way to eastern hemlock on horticultural plants. There are no native controls of HWA so it is able to reproduce exponentially—and hemlock cannot tolerate these numbers. The hemlock program’s main focus is an integrated pest management approach to control of HWA and thus conservation of hemlock on the landscape.
Eastern hemlock infested with woolly adelgid.
Shop the Smokies!
All purchases support the national park
Gone Fishing, in my new Hazel Creek hat!
NEW HAT – The lawn is mowed. The dog is walked. And the trash has been hauled to the curb. Nothing left for him to do but go fishing in the clear, cool streams of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, decked out in our new Hazel Creek hat, complete with an embroidered rod, line and fly.

Until our new website is launched later this month, visit our stores in and around the national park or call us at 865.436.7318, Ext. 226.
Christmas in August

Our 2018 "I'm Rooted in the Smokies" member Christmas ornament is on store shelves now. This 3D design is made exclusively for GSMA by Tim Weberding in his Gatlinburg Craft Community workshop. It features our GRITS tree with bear paw leaves and deep roots in Smoky Mountain soil enclosed in multiple rings of natural wood and emerald green.

The Weberding Woodworking Company supplies GSMA many other wooden ornament styles. Their members-only design from four years ago remains one of our most popular. Until this one, that is.

GSMA members are invited to stop by any of our visitor center locations to pick up an ornament today. They are also available by phone at our Mail Order Department at 865.436.7318, Ext. 226.
You'll love this
'cherry' much!
Cherry Dump Cake  
Ingredients
- 2 (20-oz.) cans of cherry pie filling
- 1/2 jar of Foods of the Smokies Cherry Preserves
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 C slivered almonds
- 3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) butter, sliced
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9”-x-13” baking dish with cooking spray. Mix preserves and add cherry filling in a bowl then pour into pan, then sprinkle cake mix over so cherries are totally covered. Scatter almonds evenly over cake mix then place pats of butter evenly over top. Bake until topping is golden, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly, then scoop into serving bowls and top with vanilla ice cream, if you'd like.
August is typically when our national park's black bears and several bird species can be seen gorging themselves on wild cherries, especially those trees growing in Cades Cove.

The Smokies are home to two cherry tree varieties – black and pin cherries. Black cherry trees are also preferred by tent caterpillars for building webby tents. Pin cherry is a pioneer tree, which means it requires a disturbance, like fire or storm damage, to become established.
Enlist in our first ever Hammock Boot Camp
Our Branch Out with Great Smoky Mountains Association events this year have been more popular than ever before. We've gathered together to climb some of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi, paid our respects to those who came before us and gotten up close and personal with salamanders.

What's next, you ask? Join us for the ultimate in relaxation this fall when we introduce Hammock Boot Camp, for those who prefer to kick back and take it easy. As an added bonus, all registrations include your own GSMA logo hammock.
National Park visitation to date
Will Great Smoky Mountains National Park retain the title of 'Most Visited National Park' in 2018? Only time will tell...

January - 320,864
February - 399,156
March - 689,235
April - 816,079
May - 978,199
June - 1,402,716
Total for 2018 = 4,606,249
2017 visitation through June: 4,610,429
Shop our Lookout League
Business Partners
Partner of the Month:

Cove Mountain Level ($1,000)

Great Smoky Mountains Association is so appreciative of the strong support we receive from numerous local businesses and organizations. 

In mid-July, Lookout League member  Anakeesta partnered with Miss Tennessee United States Leslie Truan and the new Margaritaville Gatlinburg Resort to host a benefit raffle. Tickets were sold in Anakeesta's Firefly Village for a variety of goodies donated by local businesses. 

"Thank you, Anakeesta, for raising valuable funds in support of our mission of support for Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the national park system," said CEO Laurel Rematore (right) as she accepted the BIG check from Anakeesta marketing coordinator Erica Moore.
Smokies Guide
The most recent issue of Smokies Guide , Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official park newspaper, is available to read online and can be mailed to you for free (S&H charges apply). Call 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 for mailing details.
Our talented 'Cubbies'
Great Smoky Mountains Association's Cub Report e-newsletter is published on the last Wednesday of each month, with the exception of January.

These talented individuals contributed to this month's issue:
Laurel Rematore, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Duff, Cub Report Editor
Contributors this month were Frances Figart, Sarah Kirkland, Dana Murphy and Valerie Polk
Got questions? We've got answers
Share your thoughts on this issue
When you visit
In addition to our web store, Great Smoky Mountains Association operates 12 visitor contact stations in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park. GSMA staff members are always available to help you find educational materials guaranteed to enhance your park experience. When you stop by, be sure to tell our team how much the Cub Report means to you!
Oconaluftee Visitor Center (above) is located near Cherokee, N.C.


Great Smoky Mountains Association members save up to 20% at all Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitor center stores.

Save with our card when you visit other national parks, too.
Great Smoky Mountains Association
865.436.7318 | Email | Website