Pre-Conference Tour: Southern Appalachian Natural Resource Management Highlights

This tour highlights many of the management issues on public lands, Cherokee and early settlement cultures, and current issues surrounding public and private pressures on the land -- showcasing the beauty, challenges, and fun of one of the most beautiful places on earth.  You will enjoy a guided educational tour of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Fontana Dam and the Blue Ridge Parkway, as well as a raft trip on the Nantahala River.

It is important to note this tour is not a round-trip.  It starts in Gatlinburg, TN and ends at the Kanuga Conference Center (site of the ANREP conference) in Hendersonville, NC.  Those attending the preconference tour should fly into Knoxville, TN and fly home out of Asheville, NC after the conference. (The price differential between the Knoxville-In / Asheville-Out vs. the Asheville roundtrip is roughly $100 more, but makes it much more convenient.)

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Preconference Tour Agenda (Subject to change)

Friday 5/18/2012 – All meals, lodging, entrance fees and transportation are included from Friday morning until tour is concluded at Kanuga Conference Center approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Morning / Afternoon

8:00 Bus pickup at Park Vista Hotel, Gatlinburg, TN

Visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tour with Park Ranger and Naturalist

Stops include:

• Twin Creeks Research Center – discussion of park projects and partnerships
• Campbell Overlook - park life zones
• Chimneys Trailhead - heath bald
• Alum Cave Bluff / Mt. Lecont trailhead
• Chimneys Picnic Area - mid-spring wild flowers
• Newfound Gap – our bus will ascend approximately 3000 feet through cove hardwood, pine-oak, and northern hardwood forest to the evergreen spruce-fir at Newfound Gap.
• Clingman’s Dome – the highest peak in the Smokies
• Occonoluftee Visitors Center and Mountain Farm Museum – elk restoration efforts

Visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian – listen to a talk on Cherokee History from a local historian.

Evening

Dinner followed by a panel presentation by the NC State University Natural Resource Leadership Institute on the facilitation process behind the Duke Power relicensing for use of the Tuckaseegee and Nantahala Rivers for hydroelectric power generation.

Lodging at Fryemont Inn, Bryson City, NC

Saturday 5/19/2011

Morning

Visit Fontana Dam - at 480 feet, the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains. We will have a discussion with a representative from the Tennessee Valley Authority about the Dam’s creation and role in the ecosystem and energy generation.

Visit Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness (view it on webcam) – Greeting and short natural history talk, short hike through this ancient old growth forest of giant poplar trees. Recognized as one of the few remaining tracts of virgin hardwoods in the Appalachians in 1936 when it was dedicated as a living memorial to Joyce Kilmer (author of the poem “Trees”), it surely is the only remaining tract today!

Afternoon

Picnic lunch

River rafting trip on the Nantahala River through Endless River Adventures or those not wishing to raft will visit the Nantahala Outdoor Center. This facility is a popular spot to watch rafters and kayakers navigate the rapids of the Nantahala River, browse shops and exhibits, and get a bite to eat.

Western North Carolina Recreation Industry talk from local extension professionals.

Evening in Bryson City

Group dinner and lodging at Fryemont Inn

Walk to Nantahala Brewing Company (optional)

Sunday 5/20/2011

8:00 Breakfast talk on The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee

Tour the Blue Ridge Parkway with stops.

Known as “America’s Favorite Drive”, the Blue Ridge Parkway is designed as a slow paced and relaxing drive, revealing the natural and cultural history of the Southern Appalachians. We will make several stops including a box lunch and short hikes on our way north on the Parkway.

• Stop 1 Waynesville Watershed
• Stop 2 Highest point on the Parkway
• Stop 3 Devil’s Courthouse
• Stop 4 Graveyard Field – short hike to falls
• Stop 5 Fetterbush Overlook
• Stop 6 Looking Glass Overlook

2:30 Arrive at Kanuga Conference Center

Tour Fees

Total (per person/double room) $550

Total (per person/single room) $700

Questions?

Contact James Jeuck at james_jeuck@ncsu.edu.

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To register: http://www.ncsu-feop.org/ANREP/reg-form.html