Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have released a General Management Plan Amendment/ Environmental Assessment to evaluate various alternatives for construction of a new science laboratory in the Twin Creeks area of the Park, near Gatlinburg. The public is invited to comment on the project during a 30-day period ending June 28.

The purpose of the 15,000-square-foot, one-story building is to provide needed laboratory space, working space for park staff, research partners, and volunteers; and also storage for the park’s natural specimen collection. Additionally the science facility would support the park’s youth educational programs to integrate ongoing scientific research with its educational activities. The current facilities at Twin Creeks are inadequate to accommodate all the science-related activities which include the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory project, and the Inventory and Monitoring, Vegetation and Air Quality programs.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson said that “During the park’s initial public comment period for the proposed science facility late last year, only five individuals attended a public meeting on the proposal and the park received only two written comments during the public comment period. Both comments were supportive of providing appropriate facilities to support the scientific and educational programs in the park.”

The disturbance area is 1.5 acres and located along Cherokee Orchard Road, 1.5 miles south of the park boundary with Gatlinburg. The project area is an area of reforested abandoned farmland. Considering the relatively small acreage to be impacted and the presence of other areas in the park with similar plant communities of second growth forest, there would be minor long-term adverse impacts to the park’s vegetative resources.

The park’s General Management Plan (GMP) designates the Twin Creeks area as a general park development subzone and calls for the construction of an additional laboratory 3,000 square feet in size. The increase to 15,000 square feet calls for an amendment to the GMP. Since the GMP was written in 1982, research activities have grown significantly and the 3,000-foot laboratory cited in the GMP is no longer sufficient to handle today’s science functions.

To obtain a copy of the General Management Plan Amendment/ Environmental Assessment, which provides background information on the need for the facility, site selection, and details the affected environment and impacts from the proposed alternatives, call the Public Affairs Office at 865.436.1208. Comments may be sent in writing to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, TN, 37738.