Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has created 288 ways for you to get to know Mother Nature and the cultural heritage of the Great Smoky Mountains during the Jan. 7-14, 2012, salute to the outdoors.
This will be the 22nd year for Wilderness Wildlife Week, an eight-day extravaganza of seminars, workshops, photography classes, hikes, owl prowls and even musical performances.
“It’s exciting to look at it by the numbers,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, which presents Wilderness Wildlife Week free of charge. Last year, guests came from 28 states and Canada.
“We have 240 indoor programs, plus 48 hikes, field trips and owl prowls. That’s 288 in all, and 120 of them are brand new for 2012. There are 20 programs especially for kids, 22 that examine the heritage of the Smokies and more than a dozen photography courses,” he said.
Wilderness Wildlife Week, begun in 1990 as a salute to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a major part of the four-month-long Pigeon Forge Winterfest season. Winterfest 2011-2012 in its entirety is a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event.
The keynote speaker is Peggy Callahan, an expert on wolves and other predators, who has presentations on Jan. 7 and 8. She is the founder and executive director of the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn.
More than 150 experts – nature photographers, biologists, raptor rehabilitators, social historians, musicians and just plain folks who grew up in the Smokies – donate their time to lead Wilderness Wildlife Week programs about natural history, wildlife, outdoor recreation, nature photography, conservation efforts and cultural history.
Among the topics: bears in the Smokies, reintroduction of elk to the national park, the Smokies’ logging history, possums, bluebirds, trout fishing, bald eagles, the Civil War in the mountains, fire towers, beginner backpacking, how to raise butterflies and how to play the dulcimer.
The 48 hikes and excursions – including a llama trek – into the national park complement the indoor programs and range from easy to challenging. In 2011, 668 hikers trekked a cumulative 3,227 miles. Hiking records have been kept for nine years, and the accumulated total mileage is 17,516.
“The week is extremely flexible. You can come just for one program, for one day or for the whole week,” Downey said. “We have 288 ways to connect you to our beautiful part of the country.”
Wilderness Wildlife Week began as a half-day program and immediately grew into a weeklong activity. By itself, it has been a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event 10 times.
Wilderness Wildlife Week details are at www.MyPigeonForge.com/wildlife. Information about all aspects of visiting Pigeon Forge is at www.MyPigeonForge.com or by calling toll-free to 1-800-251-9100.