MTJP CORPS · MORE THAN JUST PARKS ·MTJP Corps
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MTJP CORPS · MORE THAN JUST PARKS ·
A place we watch

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Timing

Nothing is open on this one today. It is a place the Corps keeps an eye on, so we see the paperwork the day it lands.

What is worth photographing here

On a busy weekend, photograph a popular trailhead: cars overflowing onto road shoulders, the full lot, restrooms and trash cans, then the first mile of trail showing tread width, braiding and any campsite fire rings.

Why we watch it

Twelve million visitors a year walk beneath the oldest mountains on the continent. The Smokies harbor more tree species than all of northern Europe combined, biological diversity unmatched east of the Mississippi. Budget cuts are hollowing out the staff that keeps this park from being loved to death.

How to record it so it counts

  1. 01Photograph the trailhead or access point with the vehicles in it. Count them and note the time and day.
  2. 02Photograph the pull-off camp spots outside any campground, the fire rings, and the worn paths that show people come here.
  3. 03Sit for a fixed time and count people passing and what they are doing.
  4. 04Write down what you know about how this place gets used across a year.
What would count
  • A vehicle count with the day and time. Weekends and weekdays both, if you can.
  • Fire rings and sites the document says aren’t there.
All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide
Nothing to answer yet

Nobody is asking you to go here today. We watch this place so that the day a decision opens on it, the people who already know it hear the same week. If you are out here anyway, what you photograph now is worth more later than anything taken after the paperwork lands.

Before you go
  1. Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
  2. Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
  3. Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
  4. Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
  5. If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.