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Here's all the latest news and happenings from the Friends of South Cumberland State Park!
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December, 2018

GET OUTDOORS ... THE PARK IS YOURS!


December Hikes & Programs
All ranger-led hikes and programs are now listed on the Tennessee State Parks Website.

Please bookmark that page to get info about all the latest ranger-led hikes and programs!
 



 
Friends' 2019 Wall Calendar, Postcards Now Available

The Friends’ 2019 Wall Calendar, a limited-run but very popular gift item, is now available for sale, while supplies last, at the Park’s Visitor Center in Monteagle.  It features the best photos by some very talented park visitors/photographers from this year’s “Picture the Park” photo contest. 

These make great gifts for anyone who loves the outdoors, and the Park!  Proceeds from the sale of these items help provide funding for a number of Friends’ initiatives on behalf of the park, including educational, interpretive, trail construction and maintenance projects.

New this year is a set of classic postcards, also depicting some of the most beautiful and unique areas of the Park, which are also available at the Visitor Center’s gift shop.  Call Carla or Marla at the Visitor Center, 931-924-2980 before you head this way, to be certain they haven't sold out! 

 


Please Remember the Friends In Your Year-End Gift Giving!
 
As you consider your year-end gifts, please remember the Friends — and through them, the Park!  Your gift supports the good work of the Friends of South Cumberland. You’ll be empowering a non-profit organization working to save great spaces in the South Cumberland and supporting this magnificent park. Donors will receive the monthly TrailTracker emails to keep you updated on Friends and Park events and volunteer opportunities.

Now protecting more than 30,800 acres, South Cumberland is the largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park.
  
New trails must be built, and existing trails must be maintained or upgraded. New and expanded parking, restrooms, camping and picnic facilities, interpretive and directional signage are needed. Invasive pests, like the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and invasive plants must be controlled. Guided hikes, seminars and historical re-enactments, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete. 

By making a Gift to the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland State Park will always be a safe, well-maintained and amazing place to experience world-class natural beauty!
 
You can make your gift and receive a confirmation easily, quickly and safely on the Make A Gift page of the Friends’ website, or you can mail a check to the Friends at PO Box 816, Sewanee, TN 37375.  The Friends of South Cumberland State Park is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; your gift may be tax-deductible.  Please consult with your tax advisor for specifics.  Thank you for your support of the Park!
 
 

Friends, Rangers, Foresters Clean Up Tornado Damage




An EF-1 tornado blew through portions of Grundy County on November 6th, damaging portions of the Park.
Tornado track map courtesy of the National Weather Service office in Nashville (click map to enlarge).

 
South Cumberland State Park managers designated Monday, November 19 and Tuesday, November 20 as the first of several work days needed to clean up damage to the eastern half of the Savage Gulf area of the Park, resulting from the Nov 6th EF-1 tornado that crossed Grundy County in the early morning hours of November 6th. Rangers from several area parks, along with personnel from the TN Division of Forestry joined Friends volunteers in untangling and clearing toppled trees and debris from trails.
 
Thanks to everyone who helped with trail clearing and clean-up!  As of November 28th, only the Collins Rim Trail and Savage Falls Campground remained closed. All other affected trails are open again and clear to hike. 

Many large trees were down, and many more were partially down — hanging from, or leaning on other trees.  A number of trails were impassable immediately after the storm.  Affected trails and campgrounds included the Savage Day Loop, North Rim Trail, North Plateau Trail, South Rim Trail, Savage Falls Campground, Dinky Line Campground, and Hobbs Cabin Campground.
 


Rob Moreland Receives 2018 'Golden Shell' Award
 
  
Congratulations to Friends Volunteer Rob Moreland, left, recipient of SCSP Manager George Shinn's 2018 "Golden Shell" Award, given annually to the Friends volunteer who exhibits exceptional dedication to the environmental, interpretive and recreational mission of South Cumberland State Park.  Rob is currently heading up the Friends' effort to rehab and interpret the site of a 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work camp in the Grundy Forest area of the Park.  Congratulations to Rob for this well-deserved recognition! With Rob is SCSP Manager George Shinn.
 


Ranger Aaron Reid now Assistant Manager at Savage Gulf


Congratulations to Ranger Aaron Reid for being named the new Assistant Park Manager at Savage Gulf!  He joins Assistant Park Manager Bill Knapp, who will now be able to focus on the central and southern areas of the Park (Fiery Gizzard and Sherwood Forest).  Together, says SCSP Manager George Shinn, "Bill and Aaron are my “boots on the ground”, out on the front lines, leading and managing our talented staff, and carrying out our mission of having a beautiful, clean and safe park, so our park visitors can totally focus on having an amazing experience out in nature!"
 

Ten Area Photogs Recognized in
'Picture the Park' Photo Contest


 
Ten area photographers have been recognized for their outstanding work in capturing beautiful and compelling images of South Cumberland State Park.  The Friends of South Cumberland State Park’s 2018 “Picture the Park” photo competition asked photographers to submit their best work in a number of categories, ranging from “It’s the Little Things…” to “Wow, That’s Big…” and everything in between.
 
“We’re delighted with the dozens of breathtaking photographs these photographers have donated to the Friends for our use in helping park visitors better understand the amazing array of natural wonders that can be found in South Cumberland State Park,” said Friends president Naullain Kendrick. 
 
“We have plans in the pipeline to display all of these amazing photos over the coming years, both in our online media and in tangible items we hope will be popular with park visitors and Friends supporters,” Kendrick added. 
 
The winning photographers and categories in which their images were recognized are:
            •  Scenic Vistas: Anna Sharpe
            •  Wildflowers: Wendy Fish
            •  Moving Water (tie): Wendy Fish & Debra Morgan
            •  Ferns and Mosses: Rick Dreves
            •  'Shrooms and Licens: Debra Morgan
            •  Insects: Lucy Banks
            •  Ol’ Man Winter: Wendy Fish
            •  Rites of Spring: Debra Morgan
            •  Shady Summer: Aurora Pulliam
            •  Fabulous Fall: Rick Dreves
            •  It’s the Little Things: Debra Morgan
            •  Wow, That’s Big (tie): Brandon Jett & Debra Morgan
            •  Most Awesome Trail: Anna Sharpe
            •  Most Awesome Color: Wendy Fish
            •  Most Awesome Trees: Rick Dreves
            •  Most Awesome Light (tie): Desira Fuqua, Debra Morgan & Lucy Banks
            •  Most Awesome Rocks (tie): Rick Dreves & Debra Morgan
            •  Moment of Solitude: Anna Sharpe
            •  Rock Climbing: Wendy Fish
            •  Hiking (tie): Debra Morgan & Jennifer Fisak
            •  Piece of History: Brandon Jett
            •  Camping: Sherry Turner
            •  Abstract Composition: Debra Morgan
            •  Judges’ Choice: Debra Morgan

 


Volunteers: State Requests Liability Release forms

Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation need your help!  Before you volunteer for your next activity in the Park, TNSP and TDEC urgently request that you download and complete a Volunteer Liability Release FormYou will only need to do this once; the Friends, and the Park, will keep it on file for as long as you are an active volunteer.   Thank you for your support of the Park!

IF YOU'RE A FIRST-TIME VOLUNTEER, when you go to the Volunteer Sign Up Form on the Friends' website, the Volunteer Liability Release is included in your first sign-up.

 

 
PictureShop and support the Park
at the same time!
 
When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates a portion of your purchase directly to the Friends of South Cumberland State Park. Click the logo below to begin, and bookmark that page as your Amazon starting point in order to designate the Friends as your preferred recipient!
 


The Friends are now on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter!
 
Be among the first to follow us and share your adventures in the Park
on these new Friends of South Cumberland pages:

 

 

Join or renew your Friends membership today!

Now it’s easier than every to join or renew your Friends membership online!  Just visit the Membership page of the Friends website.  If you’re renewing, there will be a link on that page for current Friends members to use.  If you’re a current member and follow that link, it will ask you to enter your email and password to log into the Member Services area of the website.  If you have not yet set up your password, enter the email address you believe we have on file for you, and then click the “forgot password” link, which will allow you to set up a password to access your info in our system.  Once you’re set up, it will be much easier to do future membership renewals; register for Friends’ events; make gifts or donations; and any other kind of transaction you’d like to make in support of the Park!
 

Add our new address to your Contact list!

The Friends now offer online Member Services functions (click here to learn more)!  Please add FriendsOfSouthCumberland@gmail.com to your device’s contacts or address book.  This email address is the official address for communications from the Friends (including TrailTracker!), so please add it to your contacts to be sure important messages from us aren’t landing in your junk mail folder by accident.
 

Why should you join and support the Friends?

Now protecting more than 30,000 acres, South Cumberland is the largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park. New trails must be built, and existing trails must be maintained or upgraded. New and expanded parking areas, restrooms, camping and picnic facilities, and directional signage are needed. Invasive pests, like the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and invasive plants must be controlled. Guided hikes, seminars and historical re-enactments, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete.  By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland will always be a safe, well-maintained and amazing place to experience world-class natural beauty!

Q&A:  HOW TO SET YOUR FRIENDS MEMBER SERVICES PASSWORD IF THE EMAIL YOU RECEIVED SAYS “LINK IS EXPIRED”

Q: The email I received from the Friends has a link to activate membership accounts and set up a password.  However, when I clicked the link the message came back that the link is expired.  What should I do?

A: The link has a "time out" on it for security reasons; if it's not opened within a couple of hours after you receive the email, it "expires".  However, if you click on that link, in the email, it will take you to the screen where it says it expired, and on that same page there is also a link titled Request a New Verification or Reset Password link.  Click on that, and it will ask for your email address. Enter your address and then the system will email you a fresh link or code that will allow you to get into the system and set up your account password.

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Friends of South Cumberland State Park · Post Office Box 816 · Sewanee, TN 37375 · USA

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