Providing Safe Wildlife Crossing on I-40 Near the Pigeon River Gorge Program to be Presented at the UT Arboretum Thursday, March 12th

TDOT recently installed new bear crossing signs on I-40 near the North Carolina line on a section often considered a death trap for wildlife. Jeff Hunter, senior program manager with National Parks Conservation Association in Asheville, will speak about his work to improve wildlife’s ability to safely cross Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge on Thursday, March 12 at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, 901 S. Illinois Avenue on Oak Ridge at 7:00 p.m.

              Co-sponsored by the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, the UT Arboretum Society and the UT Arboretum, this program is free and open to the public but donations are gratefully accepted. No registration is necessary.

Hunter’s work includes issues related to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. He also led the Tennessee Wild wilderness campaign focused on permanently protecting nearly 20,000 acres in the Cherokee National Forest, including 4.5 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The signing of the Tennessee Wilderness Act into law in December 2018 marked the completion of this project.

Celebrating 55years in 2020, this program is one of many lectures and activities that will be offered this year by the UT Arboretum Society. The program is cosponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the program, call 865-483-7277 or mcampani@utk.edu.