CFO Assists in Cave Gate
Construction
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Proactive
Cave Conservation in Tennessee
Tennessee is extremely
rich in cave resources. If
you live in the eastern two-thirds of the State, chances are you are quite
familiar with cave entrances, sinkholes, disappearing or “losing”
streams, voids, and springs. These landscape features, collectively known as “karst,”
are present because of Tennessee’s interesting geology and abundant
limestone. Mild organic
acids, formed by the mixture of water with air and soil-borne carbon
dioxide, readily dissolve limestone creating cracks and fissures.
This process, working over the span of hundreds of thousands of
years, has resulted in the current karst topography we see today.
According to the Tennessee Cave Survey, there are over 8,000 known caves
in the State! more...
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30 Years of Endangered
Species Conservation in Tennessee
by Jim Widlak -
CFO Biologist
(This article was submitted to and
published by the Tennessee Conservationist [Jan-Feb issue])
Thirty years ago, Congress passed a bill
into law that would set a standard for environmental conservation. Never
before had any nation recognized the plight of its fish and wildlife
resources; and acknowledged the aesthetic, ecological, educational,
historical, recreational, and scientific value of plants and animals that
were being depleted in numbers because of untempered growth and
development. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is considered to be a
milestone in conservation legislation. It’s purpose is not only to
protect plants and animals facing extinction, but to provide a means for
protecting and conserving the ecosystems upon which those species depend,
and to provide programs for their conservation. No single law has
encompassed a broader scope for the conservation of fish and wildlife, nor
has any law generated more discussion and controversy. The Endangered
Species Act has undergone many changes throughout its thirty year history
and has been tested repeatedly, but it still stands as one of the most
important pieces of legislation for the protection and conservation of
imperiled fish, wildlife, and plant species in this country.
More...
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