Displaying items by tag: indiana bat
Proposed Oak Ridge airport still doesn’t fly for many
Robert Kennedy shows a prototype drone under development by the nonprofit Tennessee Valley Stellar Corporation. He had removed the propellers and battery to make it easier to bring it inside and to avoid security and safety concerns about his intentions. He wanted to use it for show and tell, but was denied the opportunity to speak. Attendees were offered to dictate comments to a court recorder. Few were willing to stand in line and do so. Written comments may be sent until Aug. 18, 2023. Wolf Naegeli/Hellbender Press
Public hearing on proposed Oak Ridge airport suggests there is no easy glide path for project
OAK RIDGE — Citizens of Oak Ridge and surrounding communities continue to debate the pros and cons of a new airport in the area. A public forum on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, brought together those for and against the proposed airport to study documents and discuss the project.
While there was an opportunity to give verbal comments to a court reporter, many decided to put comments in writing. Additional comments can be submitted by Friday, Aug. 18 via mail to FAA Memphis District Office, 2600 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 2250, Memphis or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The city of Oak Ridge government commissioned GMC to write an Environmental Assessment and the Federal Aviation Administration will review it, along with public comments to make decisions about moving forward with the airport construction. In a press release the city of Oak Ridge stated it organized the hearing to follow federal laws and policies. Other reasons for the meeting included issues such as “area wetland, streams, and ponds; archaeological and historical sites; biological issues; airport noise and social effects such as road closures and realignments; view shed and lighting impacts.”
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- oak ridge general aviation airport proposal
- mark paslick
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- gmc
- sandra goss
- save the bats
- indiana bat
- northern long eared bat
- k25 overlook and visitor center
- manhattan project national historical park
- catness
- james lewis
- rachel kovac
- thomas fraser
- ben pounds
- liz porter
- faa regulation
- tennessee citizens for wilderness planning
- oro
- jeff gilpin
- endangered bat
- oak ridge airport
Oak Ridge National Laboratory land is an international treasure of biodiversity
Aquatic ecologist Natalie Griffiths studies nutrients and contaminants in the Weber Branch watershed, which is in the Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park. Courtesy Carlos Jones/ORNL
ORNL research lands are an international ecological benchmark and diverse wonderland of trees, plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
Abby Bower is a science writer for Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a hub for world-class science. The nearly 33,000-acre space surrounding the lab is less known, but also unique. The Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) is a key hotspot for biodiversity in the Southeast and is home to more than 1,500 species of plants and animals.
At the intersection of Anderson and Roane counties is an important subset of the reservation — the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, or NERP — a 20,000-acre ORNL research facility that has been internationally recognized by UNESCO as an official biosphere reserve unit.
“The National Environmental Research Park is a living laboratory and a major resource for conducting ecological studies,” said Evin Carter, an ORNL wildlife ecologist and director of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program, or SAMAB. The NERP has been a core part of SAMAB, which has focused on sustainable economic development and conserving biodiversity in Southern Appalachia since 1989.
With ORNL researchers and scientists from government agencies and academia using the NERP for diverse experiments each year, the park lives up to its status as a living laboratory.
It also lives up to its reputation as a biodiversity hotspot. As one of seven DOE-established environmental research parks reflecting North America’s major ecoregions, it represents the Eastern Deciduous Forest. The NERP comprises parts of this ecoregion that have been identified repeatedly as priorities for global biodiversity conservation, Carter said.
This designation means more than ever as climate change alters ecosystems and biodiversity declines worldwide. According to a landmark international report, on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, around one million plant and animal species are currently threatened with extinction.
- oak ridge national laboratory
- ornl
- ecological benchmark
- oak ridge national environmental research park
- nerp
- biosphere reserve
- southern appalachian man and the biosphere
- samab
- biodiversity
- unesco
- oak ridge reservation
- orr
- ecoregion
- culturally significant plant species initiative
- cspsi
- evin carter
- kitty mccracken
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- neon
- national ecological observatory network
- northern longeared bat
- indiana bat
- grey bat
- endangered species
- threatened species
- purple gallinule