TN Wild Side-Shady Valley Bog Restoration.mpg

Twelve thousand years ago, during the last ice age, plants and animals from far north made their way to Tennessee. When the ice retreated, many stayed, living in the unique mountain wetlands of the northeast corner of our state. Estimated to have once been nearly a thousand acres, these mountain bogs were systematically drained by people who wanted to farm the land. In the end fewer than 10 acres remained. As the bogs disappeared, so did many of the wild things living there. Today there is an effort underway to right the wrongs of the past. Wild Side Guide Ken Tucker takes us to Shady Valley, where the Nature Conservancy is spearheading an effort to restore one of the most unique natural ecosystems in North America.

Visit The Nature Conservancy website at www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/places­weprotect/Shady-Valley.xml to find out more about the bog turtle and the effort to restore the mountain bogs it lives in. The turtle population has had a hard time growing due to limited habitat as well as natural predators such as raccoons and coyotes eating the eggs. Researchers are optimistic that as more wetlands are restored, the turtles will eventually return to the numbers they enjoyed prior to man's intervention.

Shady Valley is home to a wide variety of watchable wildlife...visit the TWRA's watchable wildlife website at www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/watchareadetails.cfm?uid=09120316015676111&region=Sh­ady_Valley&statearea=East_Tennessee to learn more.

For more information on bog turtles, try these websites:

www.fws.gov/endangered/bulletin/99/05-06/12-13.pdf
www.aza.org/Membership/detail.aspx?id=606
www.wsi.nrcs.usda.gov/products/w2q/strm_rst/docs/pied/c-2.pdf
www.turtlesurvival.org/blog/1/39
www.rosamondgiffordzoo.org/assets/uploads/animals/pdf/BogTurtle.pdf
www.tortoise.org/archives/bogturt.html
http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C048

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/tn_consv/turtles.shtml (Tennessee turtles)
http://wataugalakemagazine.com/shadyvalleytennessee.html (Shady Valley, TN)
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/tennessee/preserves/art... (Shady Valley Cranberry Festival)

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• environment
• turtles
• tennessee
• mountains