The Joy of Discovery

Partnership Engages Public in Search for Species

Trees and flowers at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area glistened after a stormy night.

A group gathered at the trailhead, gateway to 320 acres along the shores of Nickajack Reservoir.

Kids and their adults were ready for a BioBlitz – a day of discovering species.

For 12 years, TVA has partnered with Discover Life in America to host two BioBlitzes on TVA lands annually.

BioBlitzes aren’t only fun.

They also help TVA fulfill its mission.

TVA’s stewardship of the region’s waters and lands helps improve lives by bringing billions of dollars into local economies for recreation and conservation. Through careful management of the river system, TVA has helped avert billions of dollars in flood damage.

“TVA manages 293,000 acres of public land,” Shea Gaither, TVA program manager in public outreach and support, said. “Of those, 16,000 are in TVA Natural Areas.”

“TVA has these great Small Wild Areas created for public recreation,” Todd Witcher, Discover Life in America executive director, said. “We teach people how to learn about what species live there.”

This group stood ready.

“I want to find a frog,” attendee Avalon Walpert said. She got approving nods from her family – sister Finn, brother Colin and mother Sheri VanBilliard, who works at TVA in monitoring and notification.

“I am a frog – ribbit!” chirped third grader Jenna Race, who stood grinning with her dad, Justin, as she waved a net.

Michael McCall, TVA’s vice president of Environment and Stewardship, stood ready to help discover species at the BioBlitz, too.

“Public lands are such a valuable asset that we’re fortunate to help steward,” McCall said.

Michael McCall, TVA vice president of Environment and Stewardship, and Amelia Eckermann, 6, look at a salamander held by Will Kuhn, Discover Life in America director of science and outreach. (Photos by Susan Ehrenclou / TVA)

Back to the Beginning

Taking care of the land, water and air – and all the species within – requires knowing what lives there.

All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories – an ongoing list of lifeforms – began in 1998 to discover just what lived in parks and protected areas.

“A group of scientists came together, and National Park staff, based on an idea by ecologist Dan Janzen, looked at trying to inventory everything that exists in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Witcher said.

The Smokies’ Keith Langdon and others mobilized to create the nonprofit Discover Life in America, which held public BioBlitzes as part of this effort.

Others took part in the search for biodiversity, too.

Across the country, parks, forests and the agencies that managed them hosted BioBlitzes.

Apps such as iNaturalist became repositories for all the data collected.

“Since the ATBI started, we’ve more than doubled the number of known species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Julie Elfin, Discover Life in America biodiversity program specialist, said.

And BioBlitzes have documented new species and new habitats on TVA lands, too.

“We’ve got close to 20,000 observations so far,” said Jaimie Matzko, Discover Life in America director of communications and outreach.

The benefits go beyond discovering species.

“It’s about learning the tool and seeing that the site is safe,” Witcher said. “Now, they can go back and do it over and over again.”

Matzko agreed.

“I hope families will say, ‘That was fun! We just went into the woods and uploaded it into this app. Let’s go home and learn what’s in our backyard,’” she said.

Colin Walpert holds a salamander he found.

BioBlitzing Night and Day

BioBlitzes on TVA lands are two-day events. At Little Cedar Mountain, about 18 people forged into the wild world of night life.

“That’s when they might need extra support feeling comfortable,” Elfin said.

The group watched for fungi that glowed under ultraviolet flashlights.

They cast light on sheets hung between trees to catch nocturnal moths, which they later released.

And they looked for the eye-shine of tiny, shy creatures that crawled in the darkness.

“The kids really enjoyed the different colored lichen,” Gaither said.

“And glowing millipedes,” Elfin said.

“Before the BioBlitz, there were 2,700 observations with over 600 species at Little Cedar Mountain,” said Will Kuhn, Discover Life in America director of science and research. “We observed over 80 new species for this site just last night.”

Come morning, TVA and Discover Life in America staff led a different group down the Small Wild Area’s trail.

Right away, they spotted a moth with huge, feathered antenna.

“This moth has big bushy eyebrows so it can smell out mates,” Kuhn said to Jenna. “Those are his giant noses.”

Kids crowded around tiny red dots on the forest floor – red mushrooms called elf cups – and watched as snails crept their way along leaves with eye stalks waving.

People peered at flowers and ferns, slugs and spiders.

“Ooh, look at this,” Elfin said, gathering a group of small followers around her. “Look at this rock. And what’s on top?”

She held a gnarly nut aloft.

“My guess is this chewed nut goes with this hickory leaf,” Elfin said. “My guess is a squirrel sat right here on the rock and nibbled this nut.”

Lorelei Eckermann, 4, carried the nut. Her sister Amelia, 6, stalked a rustling that she reported looked like a centipede in the leaf litter.

Kuhn pointed out an endangered John Beck’s leafcup and keyed out mushrooms. He offered ripe mulberries to the group as they trooped by the tree and taught them about sori – tiny bumps on the underside of black-stemmed spleenwort leaves.

When the trail split, the group happily marched on.

“We were two hours in last night and didn’t make it this far,” Gaither said, smiling.

A sphinx moth with "two noses" for antennae, photographed as part of the previous night's BioBlitz.

BioBlitz Forever

That’s the way it is with BioBlitzes – there’s no defined destination. Just discovery.

And at the end, everyone had at least one favorite thing from the day.

“Probably this snail,” Avalon said, flipping through hundreds of photos she had taken. “Or this worm we found under a rock. I took so many photos that I ran out of room on my phone.”

Finn loved eating the mulberry and "finding cool stuff," while her brother Colin had perfected the art of gently lifting logs to find polka-dotted Northern slimy salamanders underneath.

“Look at this web – it’s so finely done,” their mother said. She waved her hand in front of its strands as if admiring embroidery.

Both TVA and Discover Life in America staff said engaging the public as community scientists was their favorite part of BioBlitz days.

“Forming a connection with something small and really local … is a window into being more open and having more understanding about the general region where we live,” Elfin said.

That’s important as ecosystems change over time.

“We tend to fall in love with fuzzy, cute bears and things,” Witcher said. “But once you see these small things up close, you recognize how beautiful they are and their importance.”

And documenting species is key for TVA and other land management agencies to be able to plan for long-term environmental stewardship of the lands and waters that humans depend on, too.

“Sometimes, people don’t understand that we’re part of biodiversity,” Witcher said. “Stewardship is like taking care of your peeps.”

After the BioBlitz officially ended, one family forged on to find frogs in a pond. Others stayed to birdwatch in the fields.

Kuhn reported that the total topped 3,000 observations – with over 760 different species – after the BioBlitz.

And discovery doesn’t stop there. Anyone can come and search for species anytime, and all that data is added automatically to the iNaturalist database for Little Cedar Mountain.

“For TVA’s natural areas, BioBlitzes last two days,” Elfin said. “But the project exists forever, for anybody who’s in that space.”

Photo Gallery

Jaimie Matzko and Julie Elfin show how they use a net to collect insects during BioBlitz events.

Todd Witcher, Discover Life in America director, at the organization's headquarters.

Witcher and Kuhn orient people to the trails. 

Sun filters through the forest during a BioBlitz event.

Amelia and Lorelei Eckermann point out snails during their BioBlitz adventure.

A snail crawls on a rock during BioBlitz.  

Lorelei Eckermann, 4, studies flowers.

Kuhn shows the Eckermanns a gall – a protective case that plants build around insect eggs.

Amelia Eckermann points out a discovery on the trail.

The Walpert family photographs a salamander Colin found. 

Kuhn shows the Eckermanns a "very pretty worm."

A worm snake.

A spiny caterpillar species.

Catelyn Fowler encounters an invasive thorny tree and a native snail.

Avalon and Finn Walpert identify a mushroom.

A slug hides out on a railing.

Julie Elfin, Discover Life in America biodiversity program specialist, adds a slug to the iNaturalist app.

Slime mold waits for the perfect conditions to emerge.

Snails nestle on mossy rocks.

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: The Northern slimy salamander.