It’s a lot quieter this week at The Smoky Mountain News. Not just because of the unusually warm weather this past weekend sparking folks to frolic and head for the hills.

Following CEO Laurel Rematore’s announcement that she intends to retire at the end of 2024, Smokies Life, formerly known as the Great Smoky Mountains Association, has launched a national search for her successor. 

A podcast of the Great Smoky Mountains Association, the miniseries “Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music” won the award for Outstanding Public Engagement during the 2023 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards.

Three years ago, researchers from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota captured the attention of biologists around the world with a surprising discovery. After observing a number of frogs, salamanders and newts under blue and ultraviolet light, the team found that every amphibian they tested could glow, or “biofluoresce.”

About this time last year, I was asked to be involved with designing the first-ever conference for writers to be held within the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The inaugural Tremont Writers Conference is the coordinated effort of two educational park partners: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and Great Smoky Mountains Association.

 A multifaceted rescue effort extricated a stranded hiker from the backcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday, Jan. 18.