Rosemary Bear (class of 2022) cools off in a cub tub (all to herself this time, thank you) on a hot July day at Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend. The center entered a new agreement with licensing authority Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency that calls for improved sanitation, regular pen rotation and burnovers and other management techniques. TWRA euthanized 13 bears in December 2024 following fatal and persistent strains of pneumonia. The center has been closed since; ABR director Greg Grieco said on July 22 the facility expects to complete renovations and be ready for the next crop of orphaned and injured bears by spring 2026.  Appalachian Bear Rescue

TWRA and bear rescue center reach agreement to resume rehab services at Townsend facility next year

This is a joint release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Appalachian Bear Rescue.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) have reached a new partnership agreement for black bear rehabilitation in Tennessee.

During the course of 2023 and 2024, the presence of pneumonia raised initial concerns about the health of bears being housed at ABR. After a difficult decision in December 2024 to euthanize 13 bears, the agency temporarily paused the placement of bears at the facility.

In the months that followed, TWRA staff sought input from bear managers, wildlife veterinarians and disease pathologists in other states on best management practices and pen sanitation measures such as discing, burns and leaving pens empty on an annual rotational schedule. ABR staff immediately started working to implement extensive modifications and upgrades to the facility to align with the recommendations of these professionals. 

TWRA leadership also began working with ABR to draft an official operating agreement to strengthen the relationship between the two entities, set clear expectations for best management practices for bear rehabilitation and provide transparency to members of the public invested in wildlife conservation.

The regionally famous Bull Run smokestack was demolished this summer by the Tennessee Valley Authority as the federal utility phases out the use of coal to generate electricity. Climate activists are alarmed by TVA’s plans to replace coal with natural gas, itself a powerful greenhouse gas pollutant.  Tennessee Valley Authority

What’s next for mammoth utility after demolition of Claxton, Tenn. landmark stack?

CLAXTON — In a matter of seconds, the old smokestack fell like a giant tree, heaving clouds of dust as it hit the ground. Workers set off the implosion with a loud boom at the base of the towering smokestack on June 28, at Bull Run Fossil Plant just outside of Oak Ridge. Minutes earlier, the shorter and more modern ‘scrubber’ bit the dust in similar fashion.

The University of Tennessee burial mound on the agriculture campus in Knoxville dates to 644. The mound was constructed by native tribes of the Woodland Period and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Wikipedia Commons

DOGE bites off $37.7 million in science and other funding from University of Tennessee system; cuts include climate initiatives and pesticide safety education

This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout. Highlighting added by Hellbender Press. The original story continues below. This story will be updated.

KNOXVILLE — The Trump administration has paused or defunded many programs at American universities, including some notable cuts in agriculture grants at the University of Tennessee.

Systemwide, a total of 42 grants to UT valued at $37.65 million ended, Melissa Tindell, UT’s assistant vice president of communication said, consistent with statistics she’s given other outlets. Eight of these terminated grants were going to the UT Institute of Agriculture and totaled $31.19 million.

Also, across the system, she said, the college had received a total of nine partial stop work orders, meaning students and staff cannot complete portions of those projects, though the total award amount hasn’t been impacted at this time.

“The most immediate impact has been the need to transition students and staff supported by these affected projects to alternative funding sources,” Tindell told Hellbender Press, reiterating a statement for Tennessee Lookout. “Essential work such as reporting, compliance and other research operations continue with adjusted support.”

Among the various research programs with terminated funding are several environmental projects.

A ribbon commemorating Juneteenth drapes a historic marker in one of Knoxville’s multiple cemeteries where enslaved people are buried.  Angela Dennis

East Tennesseans find ways to celebrate Juneteenth amid crackdowns on DEI

This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

KNOXVILLE — As cities across Tennessee prepared for Juneteenth celebrations with banners unfurling, vendors setting up and leaders finalizing programs honoring Black liberation, a deeper question lingers: What does it mean to celebrate freedom in a state restricting how that freedom’s history is taught?

In Tennessee, state lawmakers have gutted DEI programs, banned books by Black authors and restricted how teachers can talk about race and history in the classroom. 

This year’s celebrations have also come with cutbacks. Across the country, Juneteenth events have been scaled back due to shrinking DEI funding, canceled federal grants and retreat from corporate support for racial justice initiatives. 

For many Black educators, organizers and students, the policies feel like a modern day echo of the delayed freedom Juneteenth was created to mark. It represents a continued struggle for true freedom and liberation.