Park rangers are recruiting volunteers willing to adopt a tree-monitoring plot on the North Carolina side of the park.  A tree phenology monitoring training will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at the old Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee.  

After training, volunteers will be assigned to a phenology plot to collect data throughout the growing season. Plots are located near parking areas in Deep Creek, Fontana, Oconaluftee, Purchase Knob, Cataloochee, Clingmans Dome, Newfound Gap and Davenport Gap.

 Information collected by volunteers will go into a national database that helps answer questions such as “Was spring early this year?” or “When will the fall colors peak?” For more information, contact Autumn Amici at 828.497.1945 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..