Mark Fraley Podcast

Nashville has seen extraordinary growth over the past 20 years.  An estimated 100 new people move to Nashville every day.  All this growth has caused traffic congestion which is now intractable.   In a visionary effort to deal with this problem the City of Nashville has proposed a very ambitious plan for Mass Transit, called  Lets Move … Continue reading "Lets Move Nashville, Interview with Walter Searcy about Nashville Transit Plan"

Bill Terry is a recognized leader in City Planning here in Tennessee  and is also deeply involved in various Conservation related organizations.  Bill and Mark discuss the history of Planning in Tennessee and the important role which local Planning Commissions play.  We also discuss the current state of affairs, with the abolition of the Tennessee State … Continue reading "Tennessee City Planning Overview with Bill Terry"

The Tennessee Conservation Voters  (TCV) is an organization  which works in our Tennessee Legislature on behalf of its organizational members to achieve progress in protecting the natural environment.  Each year the Legislature considers many pieces of legislation effecting such widely diverse  topics as  park land, water quality, mass transit, hunting and fishing,  surface mining and  … Continue reading "Conservation Voters Update with Stewart Clifton"

Mark visits with Sharen Patterson Bracey a former Tennessee State Parks Ranger Naturalist and they discuss her history as one of the first women Commissioned as a State Park Ranger.   A botanist by training, Sharen has a special interest in Wild foods and frequently does educational programs which focus on that topic.  Sharen and her … Continue reading "Wild Foods with Sharen Patterson Bracey"

Tennessee is becoming more urbanized.  As we grow in population density there is an increased need to take care to manage our natural environment, for our own health and the heath of wildlife.  We would all agree that a town without trees would be a rather bleak place to  live.  Trees in an urban environment … Continue reading "Tennessee Urban Forestry, Interview with Brian Rucker"

A Street Lawyer is a lawyer who represents the common man.  Defendants in criminal cases,  Plaintiffs in personal injury and workers compensation claims.  Larry Hagar in such a lawyer.  Mark and Larry discuss  changes in the law which have occurred in recent years,  some to the detriment of common citizens and in favor of business … Continue reading "Interview with a Street Lawyer, Larry Hagar"

Our friend Deb Paschall has recently returned from an amazing trip to the Peruvian Amazon and the Las Piedras River.  She was taking part in a field exploration of the butterflies of the Amazon.  Deb sits down with us to tell the story  of her journey. She also shares her observations about threats to the … Continue reading "A Conversation with Deborah Paschall, Amazon Butterfly Exploration"

Radnor Lake State Park is one of Tennessee’s most visited Parks.  Located within the City of Nashville it consists of more then  1000 acres. This park has become a mecca for birdwatchers and for wildlife observation. For many years this Natural Area has had a serious problem with the dominance of  plants such as bush … Continue reading "Radnor Lake State Park Manager Steve Ward, Invasive Exotic Plant Removal"

Fort Negley has been a public park in Nashville since 1928.  The park contains the ruins of a Civil War Fort  built by the Union Army during the occupation of Nashville.  The park area was also the site of a large encampment of fugitive slaves, referred to as Contraband, seeking the protection of the Union … Continue reading "Interview with Zada Law: Nashville Civil War Heritage, Fort Negley"

Mark interviews Kathleen Williams founder and (recently retired) leader of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation.  We talk about the creation of that organization and the passage of the Tennessee Parks and Recreation Partnership Act.  Kathleen has been on the forefront of efforts to protect many of the places which are a treasure for us … Continue reading "Interview With Conservationist Kathleen Williams"