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More from the Tennesee Wilderness

A red eft – the juvenile stage of the Eastern newt – is all but hidden on the forest floor.

Cat McCue and Jeff Hunter took a walk in the proposed new Wilderness area in east Tennessee. Here’a a snapshot of what they saw as well as details on the bill:

What We Saw

Flame azalea

Mountain laurel

Galax

Sweet shrub

Bluets

Trillium

Rattlesnake plantain

Red eft

Dusky salamander

Crayfish

Wild turkey

What We Heard

Red-eyed vireo

Veery

Scarlet tanager

Pileated woodpecker

Rose-breasted grosbeak

Wood thrush

Blue headed vireo

Hooded warbler

What We Heard About

Three bear cubs – reported by another hiker who’d just passed them. They must have scampered off.

The Wilderness Bill (click for pdfs)

Upper Bald River Wilderness Area (9,038 acres, Monroe County)

Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock addition (1,836 acres, Monroe County)

Big Frog addition (348 acres, Polk County)

Little Frog addition (966 acres, Polk County)

Big Laurel Branch addition (4,446 acres, Carter and Johnson counties)

Sampson Mountain addition (2,922 acres, Washington and Unicoi counties)

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