The TennGreen Land Conservancy and Cumberland Trails Conference are working on connecting the region through the Cumberland Trail.
The project connects some 300 miles of hiking corridors and habitats between the Cumberland Gap and Tennessee River Gorge. TennGreen Deputy Director Christie Henderson said the first phase of the project is connecting sections of the trail.
“The Cumberland Plateau is a biological hotspot, meaning it’s just a really important ecological feature that we have,” Henderson said. “Adding protective land along it and stringing that all together is important for species moving about the landscape.”
Henderson said the trail’s construction is vital to land conservation. The trail will connect habitats and help ecosystems adapt to environmental changes.
“Once there’s more connected areas, the construction kind of follows up right behind it,” Henderson said. “I know the park folks, and the Cumberland Trail Conference are really working hard to get construction rolled out and new trails built every day.”
TennGreen.org said it was established in 1998 to protect the Cumberland Plateau and expand the trail.
“Construction is done really thoughtfully to work within the ecosystem, so it’s just a well constructed area with minimal impact,” Henderson said. “It’s really just hiking trails. The trail doesn’t really have any impact on the ecosystem beyond just bringing more people in to see and enjoy it.”
Henderson said information about completed sections of the trail can be found on the Tennessee State Parks website.
