Department of Environment & Conservation
Jim Fyke, Commissioner

By Mary Patten Priestley

A site of Native American cultures dating back thousands of years, Lost Cove on the Cumberland Plateau in Franklin County has been protected by a partnership of Sewanee: The University of the South, The Land Trust for Tennessee and the state’s Heritage Conservation Trust Fund.

Mary Patten Priestley, curator of the Sewanee Herbarium, writes about “Tales of Lost Cove,” this issue’s featured article.

(Photo to right) The Sewanee Natural Bridge overlooks Lost Cove. Photo by Mary Patten Priestley.

By Brian Dias

The time from Halloween to St. Patrick’s Day is a good time to plant trees, says Brian Dias, horticulture manager for the Tennessee Department of General Services Property Services management Division. Get some other tree planting tips from his article “Fall is the Time to Plant.”

(Photo to right) When you are ready to plant, use a tarp or wheelbarrow to hold the extra soil as James Eden, grounds worker, demonstrates. Photo by Aubrey Watson.

By Cindi Smith-Walters

Knowing the answers when it comes to the great outdoors is easier than ever before, Cindi Smith-Walters reminds us in her article “Field Guides: Get the Right Tool for the Job.”

“Good field guides are tools that allow you to name and identify what you find in nature and give you the ‘so what’ that many of us really want to know,” writes Smith-Walters, who is a professor of biology at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and co-director of the MTSU Center for Environmental Education.

(Photo to right) When attempting to identify trees, be sure to realize leaves vary in size on the same tree. Photo by Tim Phelps.

Also In This Issue

» Governor’s Award Winners
» Home Sweet Home
» Solar Energy in Tennessee

In The Next Issue

» Remember the Fourth Season
» Turtles in Winter
» Honoring the CCC Legacy at Pickett State Park