Southern Appalachian Creature Feature

Despite the elevation, it was quite hot, as the midday sun fell on the dry ridge running along Linville Gorge. We were there to monitor mountain golden heather, a threatened plant. Despite being a Wednesday, an off day for outdoor recreation, during three three or four hours we were in the sun counting plants, several people hiked by on the trail that bisected our work area.

The 2015-2016 Federal Duck Stamp was recently unveiled, and features a pair of ruddy ducks painted by wildlife artist Jennifer Miller of Olean, New York. Last fall, a panel of five judges chose Miller’s art from among 186 entries at the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. Miller is the third woman to win the Federal Duck Stamp Contest.

Bears have been in the news a lot recently, most notably related to a hiker who was pulled from his hammock by a bear in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to the Park Service’s report, the young man, and his father, who were travelling together, had properly stored their equipment, food, and packs on aerial food storage cables.

On the heels of numerous pollinator gardens being installed in western North Carolina, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced a major effort to help save monarch butterflies.

I’ve often talked about southern Appalachian Mountain bogs, their rarity, and the rareness of many of the plants and animals found in them. There’s a bog south of Asheville that’s a bittersweet place. Despite development in its vicinity, it still hangs on, and in fact people in the community recognize its importance. What makes it a sad place is it used to be home to one of the best bog turtle populations in the southeast. Until those turtles were poached to feed an illegal pet trade.

On May fourth, the northern long-eared bat was added to the federal endangered species list as a threatened animal. What makes this listing especially notable, is it’s the first related to the fungal disease white-nose syndrome, which has killed millions of bats in eastern and central North America.

In the wake of dramatically declining populations, last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was asked to place the monarch butterfly on the endangered species list, beginning a process of reviewing data and scientific literature to determine if listing is warranted.

This past spring Mountain Bogs National Wildlife Refuge became America’s 563rd refuge.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the National Wild Turkey Federation are offering free turkey hunting seminars in Henderson County’s Mills River community on April 1st and 2nd in anticipation of the upcoming spring turkey season.

The monarch is probably America’s best known butterfly, and the subject of extensive conservation efforts as it has experienced a dramatic decline in recent years, to the point the Fish and Wildlife Service has been asked to place it on the endangered species list.