Organizations

Discover Life in America
This nonprofit agency's primary mission is to complete an all taxa biodiversity inventory, a comprehensive study of all living things, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Plans call for creating a web site for each species, including a life history, maps, photographs, and sound bites.

Elkmont Historic District Planning
This planning initiative of the National Park Service seeks to reevaluate the current management strategy for the Elkmont Historic District in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to the site, "reevaluation is necessary because the study area was afforded Historic District status in 1994. This designation was made 12 years after the GMP (1982) was developed."

Foothills Land Conservancy
The Foothills Land Conservancy's mission is the preservation of the unique ecological, agricultural, and scenic resources of the Foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee. Formed in 1985, the conservancy operates as an independent, non-profit land trust.

Foundation for Global Sustainability
The Foundation for Global Sustainability seeks to develop an understanding of the ways the social and environmental issues facing the East Tennessee and Southern Appalachian regions are connected. Projects such as the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project and the State of the Bioregion Project provide information and outreach about environmental issues facing the region.

Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Friends of the Smokies organization supports and promotes the park by raising funds to preserve the park's natural and cultural resources and to provide improved services and facilities for its visitors.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Nestled beside the middle prong of the Little River, the Institute at Tremont has provided residential environmental education programs, ranging from wildflowers to environmental ethics, since 1969.

Great Smoky Mountains Association
Through sales, labor, donations, and other volunteer efforts, the GSMA helps provide the National Park Service with additional tools for fulfilling its mission.

Great Smoky Mountains Reference Database
This comprehensive database of research publications on the Great Smoky Mountains is principally focused on citations from primary and secondary research publications and technical reports pertaining to cultural, natural, and environmental resources.

National Parks Conservation Association
Founded in 1919, NPCA's mission is advocate for the protection of America's national park system. A national organization of around 300,000 members, NPCA has its Southeast Regional Office in Knoxville.

National Park Service
Tour through America's National Parks, including the ones in and around the Great Smoky Mountains region.

Smoky Mountain Field School
This joint project of the Park and The University of Tennessee offers "workshops, hikes, and adventures" to further education about the Park's natural and cultural resources.

Smoky Mountains Hiking Club
Founded in 1924, the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club works to protect wildlife and promote good state and national park and forest management. The SMHC offers a wide variety of hiker activities, including hikes, backpacks, campouts and picnics, and is responsible for nearly 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Smoky Mountain Historical Society
The Smoky Mountain Historical Society helps individuals and groups experience and learn more about the cultural and genealogical richness of Blount, Cocke, and Sevier Counties in Tennessee.