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Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Working To Reopen Parson Branch Road

Parson Branch Road, a bucolic route that runs from Cades Cove to the western boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been closed since 2016 due to hazardous trees. Now, however, the road could reopen this summer as tree removal work is completed and rehabilitation of the gravel road is tackled.

FAA, NPS Running Behind On Finalizing Air Tour Management Plans For Parks

Despite more than two decades to get the task accomplished, and almost two years after a federal judge ordered the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service to get the job done by this summer, air tour management plans for eight national parks will not be completed on schedule, according to court documents filed by the two agencies.

The African American Experiences Project: Making The Invisible Visible

In 2018, Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a concentrated effort to tell the stories of African Americans who have lived and worked in the Smokies over the past several centuries. Born out of that focus, the African American Experiences Project aims to collect the stories and history of Black people in the Smokies and to educate the public about their historical presence and contributions dating back to the 1540s.

National Parks Traveler Episode 155: How To Expand Eastern National Parks

How can the National Park System in the East grow bigger?
With the great rush to the outdoors that we’ve seen since the Covid pandemic erupted, there have been many calls for more space in the National Park System. While there are places in the West that seem to be logical additions to the parks there, that's not the case in the East. So, if we want more park lands east of the Mississippi, how could we gain them?

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