Wildlife Promise » Great Smoky Mountains http://blog.nwf.org The National Wildlife Federation's blog Tue, 21 May 2013 20:28:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Photo of the Day: Headed for the Top http://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/photo-of-the-day-headed-for-the-top/ http://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/photo-of-the-day-headed-for-the-top/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:58:49 +0000 Rachel Stemen http://blog.nwf.org/?p=67781 Read more >]]> Heading For the Top

Black bear cub climbing a tree in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 
Photo by Flickr member Charlie Choc (cchoc)
See more of Charlie Choc’s photos on Flickr >>

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]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/photo-of-the-day-headed-for-the-top/feed/ 1 Photo of the Day: “Dude, I love this tree.” http://blog.nwf.org/2012/08/photo-of-the-day-dude-i-love-this-tree/ http://blog.nwf.org/2012/08/photo-of-the-day-dude-i-love-this-tree/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:49:30 +0000 Rachel Stemen http://blog.nwf.org/?p=65458 Read more >]]> Dude I just Love This Tree

River otters in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photo by Flickr member cchoc
See more of cchoc’s photos on Flickr >>

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12.

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]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2012/08/photo-of-the-day-dude-i-love-this-tree/feed/ 1 Only Congress Can Prevent Smokey Bear’s Death by Budget Cuts http://blog.nwf.org/2011/12/only-congress-can-prevent-smokey-the-bears-death-by-budget-cuts/ http://blog.nwf.org/2011/12/only-congress-can-prevent-smokey-the-bears-death-by-budget-cuts/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:24:34 +0000 Max Greenberg http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=37296 Read more >]]>

Smokey the Bear on the job...but not for long, if one member of Congress gets his way (Wikimedia Commons)

You read that title right. Smokey (along with Woodsy Owl) is part of the U.S. Forest Service’s suite of programs aimed at advancing conservation education among American students and the public at large.

This week, that’s being targeted for elimination as part of the House Republicans’ YouCut program, led by Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN).

YouCut, a year-old attempt by Majority Leader Eric Cantor and colleagues to cut government programs as selected by public internet voting, designates the Forest Service ‘green school’ curricula as an example of “issue-oriented advocacy” that is “inappropriate” for public funding.  This is at a time when Republican and Democrat governors nationwide have opted in to the U.S. Green Ribbon Schools Award Program. Odd, no?

Aside from the idea that teaching kids about the world and their impact on it (and helping their schools save money through energy efficiency measures to boot) is “inappropriate,” here’s the funny part: the drive to defund Smokey’s family is being led by a Congressman from a state that has suffered 1,126 wildfires claiming about 12,875 acres of land so far in 2011 alone (PDF). Maybe he’d like the Great Smoky Mountains to more aptly live up to their name (they and Cherokee National Forest both happen to be highly forested and subject to significant fires).

The U.S. Forest Service’s conservation education programs include efforts to get kids outdoors, healthy and connecting with the natural world.  Do we really want to say farewell to Smokey Bear at a time in our nation’s history where kids spend less time outdoors than any generation in human history?

Take Action to Save Smokey

If the conservation education program ‘wins’ the vote and the cuts are eventually enacted by Congress, the “Starve Smokey” effort would likely completely eliminate the (already cash-strapped) Conservation Education office at USFS.

Take ActionIf you think Congress should leave Smokey alone and recognize the importance of conservation education, sign the Twitter petition in defense of Smokey or post the following on your Facebook wall:

Dear U.S. Representative @Scott DesJarlais: Please keep Smokey the Bear and his family off the federal budget chopping block. He’s not to blame for the budget problems our country faces today.

]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2011/12/only-congress-can-prevent-smokey-the-bears-death-by-budget-cuts/feed/ 10 Report: Climate Change Is Greatest Threat Ever To U.S. National Parks http://blog.nwf.org/2009/10/report-climate-change-is-greatest-threat-ever-to-u-s-national-parks/ http://blog.nwf.org/2009/10/report-climate-change-is-greatest-threat-ever-to-u-s-national-parks/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:44:58 +0000 Kevin Coyle http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/2009/10/03/report-climate-change-is-greatest-threat-ever-to-u-s-national-parks/ Read more >]]> In a recently released report, our colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council have identified how great a threat global warming poses to U.S. national parks.

U.S. Today Science Fair reports:

The report – National Parks in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption – outlined hazards due to rising temperatures in 25 of the country’s 351 national parks. The top risks to the parks include loss of snow and water, rising sea levels, more extreme weather, loss of plants and wildlife, and additional air pollution.

According to the report, the risks of a changed climate dwarf all previous threats to our national parks: ‘If we continue with high emissions of heat-trapping gases, our nation could be 7 to 11 degrees hotter by the end of the century — and our parks would be drastically changed.’ Endangered parks include some of the nation’s most popular, including Great Smoky Mountain, Yellowstone and Yosemite.  See full article.

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