November 19, 2009
Suspect Apprehended in Smokies Elk Poaching
Charges are pending against a Granville County, North Carolina man who is a suspected of shooting a bull elk inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
November 09, 2009
Limited Construction Traffic on Closed Section of Foothills Parkway
Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers are advising recreational users of the 9-mile unopened portion of the Foothills Parkway east of Walland,Tenn. to watch out for vehicles from November 12 through December 22.
November 02, 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act News Release
Next spring and early summer managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park expect to make over $44 million worth of major improvements to 56 miles of park roads, a campground and a popular trailhead parking area. Funding for the projects has become available from a combination of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act along with previously-authorized Federal Lands Highway Program funds.
November 02, 2009
Great Smokies is Top Money Generating National Park Service Unit
According to a recently-released National Park Service (NPS) study, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not only the nation’s most visited national park, it also tops the 391 national park units in visitor spending. The study estimates that in 2008 the Park’s 9 million visitors spent over $800 million in the gateway communities surrounding the Park.
November 02, 2009
Roadside Vegetation Work on Gatlinburg Bypass and Spur to Begin
Motorists can expect single lane closures on the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge Spur and on the Gatlinburg Bypass beginning November 2 and extending through mid-January.
October 20, 2009
National Park Hosts Live Electronic Field Trip
On Tuesday, November 3, millions of students from all over the country will visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park on an Electronic Field Trip, during which they will explore one of the richest ecosystems on earth.
October 13, 2009
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fire Management Plan
Superintendent Dale Ditmanson has announced the release of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fire Management Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) and draft Fire Management Plan. The EA addresses the proposal by the National Park Service (NPS) to update, develop and implement a Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Park or GRSM).
October 13, 2009
Smokies Announces Schedule of Cades Cove Loop Road Reconstruction
Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers have announced plans to rehabilitate the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road in the spring of 2010. Due to the limitations on work processes posed by the narrow, single lane historic road the Park plans to close the road to all use from March 1 through May 21, 2010. The work is weather sensitive so the actual closing period could be influenced by the amount of rainfall.
September 14, 2009
Celebrate Fall Harvest at the Mountain Farm Museum
The annual Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During this 75th anniversary year of the park, the event will showcase Appalachian folkways and pay tribute to the many families who lived on lands that would later become the national park.
September 10, 2009
US Mint Selects Great Smokies for New Quarter Design
The United States Mint announced recently that the nation will honor Great Smoky Mountains National Park through its new quarter-dollar coin program. The Smokies design, yet to be selected, will be the 21st to be featured on coins minted under the America the Beautiful Quarters program, and will be issued in 2014.
August 17, 2009
Rock Slide Expected to Close Little River Road Through Tuesday
A rockslide is expected keep Little River Road between the Elkmont Campground and the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area closed through Tuesday evening, August 18.
August 05, 2009
Parks As Classrooms Program Offered to Schools
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pleased to offer its fall Parks as Classrooms program, September - November, for students in grades K-8 from Tennessee schools.
August 04, 2009
Un-completed Section of Foothills Parkway Re-opens to Recreational Use
The section of the un-completed Foothills Parkway extending west from Wears Valley Road has been temporarily re-opened to non-motorized recreational use.
July 15, 2009
Park Announces Plans to begin Stimulus Funded Projects
By late August officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park say they expect to award the first round of contracts to improve the Park’s facilities using the $64 million that the Smokies is receiving under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
July 01, 2009
2009 Trails Forever Volunteer Schedule Posted Online
Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced on-line recruitment and scheduling of Trails Forever volunteers who perform a variety of trail rehabilitation and trail projects throughout the national park.
June 29, 2009
Prospectus Issued For Concession Services At Three Visitor Centers And The Great Smoky Mountains Institute At Tremont
On June 29, 2009, the National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office (NPS) will issue a prospectus seeking proposals for a new 10-year concessions contract to provide limited concession services at Cades Cove, Oconaluftee, and Sugarlands Visitor Centers and the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
May 26, 2009
Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Receive $64 Million of Stimulus Money
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent, Dale Ditmanson, has received word that the nation’s most visited national park is slated to receive $64,006,150 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The bulk of the money is targeted towards road work, but the Park’s trails, cemeteries, public restrooms, and other buildings will also be improved.
May 08, 2009
Final Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan Amendment on Elkmont
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced that the Notice of Availability of the Elkmont Historic District Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and General Management Plan Amendment was published on May 1 in the Federal Register.
March 11, 2009
Repaving Work to Begin on Newfound Gap Road
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Dale A. Ditmanson has announced that an 18 month-long project to repave 6.5 miles of the Park’s Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) is set to begin on March 16.
February 11, 2009
Ginseng Poachers Receive Jail Time
On January 22, 2009, two North Carolina men were convicted and sentenced in Federal Court in Bryson City, NC, one for illegally digging American ginseng and both for a failure to obey a lawful order given by a U.S. Park Ranger in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jeremy Farmer, 24, of Canton, NC and Larry Johnson, 46, of Clyde, NC were both found guilty, fined and sentenced to jail terms.
October 03, 2008
Park Announces Dolly Parton as 75th Anniversary Ambassador
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent has announced that Dolly Parton has agreed to serve as the Ambassador during the Park’s celebration of its 75th Anniversary.
June 13, 2008
75th Anniversary Website
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is celebrating a major milestone in 2009—the 75th Anniversary of its establishment on June 15, 1934. An interactive website that will give online viewers a virtual tour of the planned activities, an opportunity for visitors to share photos and stories of their experiences in the park, and a variety of information related to the 75th is now operational.
