From Tremont ....

Hi everyone.

I am in the Smokey Moutain National Park, at Tremont, www.gsmit.org this weekend.  The class I am taking is called Mammals of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.  There are the most incredible mammals in the park. 65 different species.  I will be doing a report on the Beaver this morning.  The tail is so amazing!!!  This photo shows a tree that a beaver chewed down to sharpen his teeth and to probably make a damn.  These mammals are called nature's engineers.  They can create new ecosystems single handedly.  Stream to pond to meadow, nature's engineers at work.

I will be updating my trees as soon as I get back to Asheville!!

Peace from the Smokey Mtn. National Park,

Rebecca

"Beavers are making a comeback in Cades Cove.
Once a common site in Cades Cove, beaver were all but eliminated from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The fashion of beaver hats at the beginning of the twentieth century once threatened many populations of beaver in the United States, including those in the Great Smoky Mountains. Fortunately, beavers are making a recovery in Cades Cove as they are migrating from an area of North Carolina where they were reintroduced into that ecosystem."

http://www.cadescove.net/wildlife_cades_cove.html