Cumberland News: March Edition

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Cumberland News   

      January, 2010 Edition 


  

The purpose of Cumberland News is to keep you up to date with our activities and also to help you do the same for your members.  We include articles submitted by our members or others from Cumberland Plateau communities in the "Around the Region" section.  Not all of the views expressed are those of the Alliance for the Cumberlands or its member organizations.  You may feel free to use any part of Cumberland News in your own newsletters. Cumberland News will be e-mailed to you at the first of every month. If you have news that you would like to share with others, please feel free to e-mail news@allianceforthecumberlands.org and it will be included in the next issue.


What we’re up to….  

Annual Conference 

Thanks to all those who came to the Annual Conference last Monday. We had a great conference this year and all the presentations were well received. If you attended the conference and did not fill out an Annual Conference survey then we would still love to have your feedback on this event. The survey is available at our website and can be taken online at this link: Click Here

  

Alliance Members 

Our fiscal year is coming to a close and we are asking that members of the Alliance participate in our online member survey: Click Here. Your feedback on our services and programs will guide us in our planning efforts and contribute to a stronger network across the Cumberlands.

 

In the News...  

Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Web Site
The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission have just launched the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Web site, marking the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil War. www.tncivilwar150.com

The Web site serves as an online tool to reach and inspire users to explore Tennessee’s rich history surrounding the state’s involvement in the Civil War.  The department and commission worked in partnership with the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area to develop a Web site to honor the five year commemoration of the war from 2011 through 2015.

Visitors to the Web site may utilize the “How Can I Get Involved” feature to ask a question, make a recommendation or purchase the Sesquicentennial Civil War License Plate online.  www.tncivilwar150.com 

 

New Welcome Center Opening: Looking for Brochures

The Tennessee Department of Tourism is in the "stocking" phase of opening Tennessee's 14th "front porch" to our state, the I-26 Unicoi Welcome Center in Erwin, TN.  The center will service travelers from both sides of I-26. Ms Jackie Rains, Welcome Center Manager, and her staff are working to fill their new, empty racks with your official community tourism brochure.  If you are in our other 13 welcome centers, please add this center to your list and consider displaying in this one too.  As they organize their stock room and begin filling these racks, it would be helpful if you could send a minimum of 500 pieces.

Erwin is located in NE Tennessee, east of Johnson City near the North Carolina border.  Interstate 26 is approximately 349 miles in length, and travels through 3 different states beginning in Charleston, SC traveling thru Asheville, NC and into the Tri-Cities region of East TN.

If you have time to pass this information to other tourism partners in your area who already have approval to be in our centers, that would be helpful too.  For those needing information about qualifying to be in the centers, click on www.tnvacation.com/industry/Welcome%20Center%20Policy.pdf

Please send your brochures to:
I-26 Unicoi Welcome Center
100 Fiddler Lane
Erwin, TN  37650
Phone:  423-743-4146

 

  

Around the Region ... 

   


Cumberlands Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) Update 

The Cumberlands HCPs (Forest Resources and Water Resources) is in full swing.  The workhorses of the Forest Resources HCP are the two Core Teams – one comprised primarily of Tennessee Wildlife Research Agency Region III staff and a similar team of TWRA Region IV staff.   Both Forest Resources HCP Core Teams have completed their draft biological goals and objectives and conservation measures.  Because each region is geographically distinct, the goals, objectives, and conservation measures are slightly different for each region.  The two teams are in the process of reviewing each others’ work products to see where differences are appropriate and where adjustments may be needed for consistency across the agency.  Groundwork for the Forest Resources HCP monitoring and adaptive management programs has also been developed.  The Core Teams are also developing details of these HCP components.  Sections 1-5 of the Forest Resources HCP document have been completed and are currently under review by TWRA.  This HCP is on track to be ready for USFWS review by summer 2010. 

  

The Water Resources HCP Core Team has also been meeting regularly. A draft list of covered species and detailed assessments of possible covered activities has been developed. Preliminary work has been completed on the take model framework and draft biological goals and objectives. Upcoming work on the take model includes a test run with a small watershed. This test run will be used to modify the model framework prior to expansion of the model to the full HCP planning area. The Water Resources HCP Steering Committee is also scheduled to meet at the end of February.  

  

HCP staff has also continued collaboration with the scientific community.  This includes forging a new relationship with Lincoln Memorial University and upcoming presentations at the Tennessee American Fisheries Society and Southern Division American Fisheries Society Meetings. 

For more information about the Forest Resources or Water Resources HCPs being developed in the Cumberlands, please contact Jennifer Gihring, HCP Outreach Coordinator, jgihring@utk.edu or 865-974-1955.

 

Bad News for Tennessee's Bats

The State of Tennessee announced Tuesday that White Nose Syndrome has been discovered in Sullivan County in far northeastern Tennessee.  Concerns about WNS spreading was the reason for the closure of caves on State property last year, including Buggytop and Peter caves at South Cumberland.

 

Read the press release here in PDF and read White Nose Syndrome FAQs here.  We need to do all we can to protect our bat populations in Tennessee.  Learn more about it.

 

$50,000 Grant Awarded

$50,000 Grant Awarded Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation for “Tennessee Trailblazers Tour” Featuring Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park and Alvin C. York State Historic Park.

The York and Hull parks are two small Tennessee State parks in counties targeted by the Gems of Appalachia: Enhancing Appalachia’s Gateways to the Big South Fork grant program. To strengthen the application for funding, the SYPF partnered with Friends of Cordell Hull Birthplace. Both groups are non-profits with goals of preserving the history and legacy of these outstanding Americans and promoting these destinations to the general public and targeted audiences for recreational, educational and tourism purposes. 
Interpretational and educational audio and visual aides for each site will be created, conceptually linking the physical locations using Web site video modules for promotion. Mapping, signage and an audio tour will enable the visitor to experience the region’s history, music and natural beauty while learning about each site during the 25-minute trip between the Parks. These pictures show a few attractions at the York site.

 

2010 Yeatman Award for Environmental Education 

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School is pleased to announce that Mary Patten Priestley, one of the area’s leading environmental activist-volunteers and curator of the Sewanee Herbarium, will receive the 2010 Yeatman Award for Environmental Education. The recipient of this year’s Trails & Trilliums Service Award is South Cumberland State Recreation Area, recognizing the work of the SCSRA staff in educating, protecting and providing access to the vast scenic areas of the park. Priestley and the SCSRA rangers will be honored on April 17 during the seventh “perennial” Trails & Trilliums, an event on the SAS campus dedicated to protecting native plants and their woodland habitats. The event includes guided hikes, speakers, a garden tour, and children’s activities.

 

Make the Cumberlands your destination for fun!

Are you looking to plan your vacation, weekend getaway, or an afternoon out within our great region?  The Cumberland Plateau is a culturally rich, naturally diverse, and charming part of the world, as most of you well know.  We encourage you to get out and experience the best it has to offer.  To help you make the most of your time, Dale Hollow Marketing Group, LLC has been publishing destination visitors’ guides since 2001 with accompanying websites to reach a greater audience.  We recently released the 2010 editions of the Fall Creek Falls Visitors’ Guide (www.Go2FCF.com) and Dale Hollow Lake Visitors’ Guide (www.Go2DHL.com).  A brand new guide to Center Hill Lake will be available in April (www.Go2CHL.com) and the new edition of the Big South Fork Visitors’ Guide (www.Go2BSF.com) will be available in May with the current edition in distribution and available for download until that time.  All of the guides are completely downloadable through their websites for quick, easy, and green access or you may pick up a copy at many locations around the Upper Cumberland.  Visit the websites for a list of key locations where the guides may be picked up. 

 

Upcoming Events of Interest ... 

 

Spring Cedar Barren cleanup - Saturday, March 6
TCWP will conduct its spring exotic invasive plant removal at the Oak Ridge Cedar Barren on March 6.  Located next to Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, this Barren is a joint project of the City of Oak Ridge, the State Natural Areas Division, and TCWP.  One of a few cedar barrens in East Tennessee, the area is subject to invasion by Chinese lespedeza, leather leaf ligustrum (Japanese privet), autumn olive, mimosa, Nepal grass, multiflora rose, and woody plants that threaten the system¹s prairie grasses.  Cleanup efforts will help to eliminate the invasives and other shade-producing plants that prevent the prairie grasses from getting needed sun. 

Volunteers should meet in the Jefferson Middle School Parking lot at 9 a.m. Eastern time, with sturdy shoes, loppers, gloves, and water.  The work session will conclude at noon.

Frozen Head State Park Wildflower Hike - Saturday, March 27
Tennessee State Naturalist Randy Hedgepeth will lead a TCWP hike at Frozen Head State Park, one of the best places in East Tennessee to see spring wildflowers.   Participants should meet at the Frozen Head Visitor Center at 10 a.m. Eastern for a walk of about four miles in the lower elevations.  Bring a lunch and water.

 

Museum Opens Doors For Local Talent
NORRIS, Tenn.: Auditions will be held at the Museum of Appalachia on Saturday, March 6, offering local and regional musicians a chance to qualify for a slot at the Tennessee Fall Homecoming next October. Regional bands and solo artists—acoustic instruments only—may demonstrate their skills to a panel of judges. Cloggers and buck dancers are also welcome to audition. Applicants should pre-register by March 1. Call or visit the Museum website for an application; application fee is $10 per group or individual.

The Museum is located 16 miles north of Knoxville, one mile east of I-75, exit 122. For more information, call 865-494-7680, e-mail museum@museumofappalachia.org, or visit the web site at www.museumofappalchia.org.

Pictures in the Park Contest 2010

The second annual Pictures in the Park Contest is alive and well and ready for action.  In fact, we have already had two photo entries. The contest, which runs through May 31, 2010, is open to all ages.

Suggested topics are: people enjoying the park, landscapes, wildlife, and plants. Photos may be realistic or creative/abstract. Those that show recognizable park features are encouraged. Read the contest rules and how to enter your photographs online here.  You can also view last year's entries and winning photographs.


Save the date: April 17-18 

The Keynote event is Cumberland Wild— “Plateau 2020: Envisioning the Future” A panel discussion on the Alliance for the Cumberlands’ initiative for sustainable growth on the plateau, organized by The Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area. Friends board member and president-elect, Mary Priestley, will be honored as the Harry Yeatman Environmental Award Recipient and South Cumberland State Recreation Area Park Manager, John Christof, will be honored as the Trails & Trilliums Service Award recipient.

 

More information will follow about how you can register for the event online.

 


Members of the Alliance for the Cumberlands.....

 

ARCADIS 

 Alabama A&M University—Center for Forestry and Ecology 

Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation 

Borderlands Foundation 

Campbell Cultural Coalition  

Conservation Fisheries, Inc.   

Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park  

Cozy Cabins and Cottages 

Cumberland Business Journal 

Cumberland County  

Cumberland County Playhouse  

Cumberland Homesteads Tower Association 

Cumberland Trail Conference    

Dale Hollow Marketing Group LLC 

Downtown Crossville Inc. 

Emory River Watershed Association 

Franklin County 

Friends of Big South Fork NRRA, Inc.

Friends of Cordell Hull    

Friends of South Cumberland  

Friends of the Cumberland Trail, Inc.  

Friends of Fall Creek Falls State Park   

Friends of Edgar Evins State Park 

Grandview Heritage Foundation 

Grundy County Rotary Club  

Grundy County Historical Society  

Historic Rugby 

Homestead  Timber Frames 

Kentucky Natural Lands Trust

Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

Land Trust for Tennessee  

Monteagle Chamber of Commerce 

Monteagle Inn

Mountain Outfitters  

Museum of Appalachia 

National Parks Conservation Association 

New Heritage Research 

North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy 

Obed Watershed Community Association

Pickett County

Pickett State Park

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation 

Ron Castle Webs 

Round to it Recordings 

Save Our Cumberland Mountains  

Sewanee Environmental Institute

Sgt. Alvin C. York State Park

Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation

Southern Environmental Law Center

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Division of Forestry 

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation 

Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage

Tennessee Forestry Association  

Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light 

Tennessee Ornithological Society 

Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation 

Tennessee Preservation Trust   

Tennessee Tech University  

Tennessee Trails Association 

Tennessee Wildlife Federation 

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

The Nature Conservancy—KY Chapter

The Nature Conservancy—TN Chapter

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, TN Field office

U.S.D.A.  Forest Service  

Upper Cumberland Arts Alliance 

Upper Cumberland Development District 

Upper Cumberland Tourism Association  

UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries  

Van Buren County Chamber of Commerce 

 

 

If you wish to be added to the list of Alliance members, please fill out a membership form at www.allianceforthecumberlands.org/membership-form and submit it online or return it to:

Zebulon Turrentine
Executive Director
Alliance for the Cumberlands
C/O Extended Services, TTU
P.O. Box 5073
Cookeville, TN 38505
931.372.6125 

If you do not wish to receive Cumberland News or other Alliance for the Cumberlands e-mails or you know of someone who would like to be added to the list, please contact Zebulon Turrentine at admin@allianceforthecumberlands.org


 

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