This is a series of 78 caches; find them all and you will be rewarded with some cool Geo-Art on your map. Answer the simple question at the end of the listing to get the true coordinates. Enjoy!
Black bears (Ursus Americanus) are one of Tennessee’s treasures mostly inhabiting Blount, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Jefferson, Johnson, Monroe, Polk, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties along the eastern border of the state. The highest densities of bears reside in the Cherokee National Forest (CNF) and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).
Since the 1970’s, the number of bears has significantly increased in Tennessee. For Example, prior to 1980, the annual harvest in the state was usually less than 20 bears. Today the picture could not be more astounding. Since 2004, Tennessee’s annual bear harvest has exceeded 300 animals! In 2009, a harvest of 571 bears in Tennessee set a new state record.
A key first step to rebuilding Tennessee’s bear population was the establishment of national forests and parks that shelter and protect our sparse bear population. The establishment of the Cherokee National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1930’s is undeniably the most significant event in the history of bears in Tennessee. Additionally, bear sanctuaries were established and laws against illegal harvests and the hunting of adult females were strictly enforced. In addition to these important management steps, bear populations benefited from the maturation and increased productivity of key oak forest species in protected areas. With careful management and enforcement by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and ecological conditions in their favor, their populations have responded dramatically.
Tennessee’s bear population thrives today largely due to the dedication of the TWRA, CNF, GSMNP, the bear research program at University of Tennessee and the support of Tennessee sportsman license dollars. Today Tennessee’s wildlife, forest, and park service agencies confront new and difficult challenges in managing bear-human conflicts. As human and bear populations increase, and more people move near public lands, bear-human interactions has undoubtedly increased creating potentially dangerous situations for the public and for bears.
Nationwide bear management experience has clearly shown that bears attracted to human food sources, or that are deliberately fed by humans, have a relatively short life. The survival rate of bears receiving food from people is likely a fraction of that of “wild” bears that do not have repeated contact with humans. The deliberate and accidental feeding of bears is socially irresponsible and causes animals to become conditioned and habituated to people. Bears that habituate to human presence eventually become a threat to human safety. The end result is that such bears are often killed by intolerant and/or fearful landowners or have to be destroyed by the TWRA. The fact that “garbage kills bears” is irrefutable.
The primary corrective action to this management dilemma is to simply restrict the access bears have to human foods. However, state and federal agencies have confronted significant challenges in bringing about even moderate changes to human behavior to achieve greater safety for humans and bears. Tennessee residents and visitors can support bears by taking steps to ensure that wild bears remain “wild”, by carefully managing sources of human food or garbage that might attract bears. The wise stewardship of habitat we share with bears is the joint responsibility of both wildlife managers and the public and will be essential for a viable future for our state treasure, the black bears of Tennessee.
To obtain the true coordinates for this cache, determine:
With regard to the topic of this cache, CNF stands for:
A) Cache Not Found - N36° 22.708 W84° 14.720
B) Cherokee National Forest - N36° 22.780 W84° 14.702
NOTE: The caches are located along a stretch of road that can be busy at times; please be very cautious and do not allow children to retrieve the caches.
Once you have solved the entire series for the correct coords, go to http://tnvalleygeocachers.com/Ursas_Americanus.html to see a suggested route for getting the caches in the most efficient and timely manner.
I would like to thank some folks that made this series possible:
Tennessee Jed for the original idea for the series.
The Seanachai and Yoknapatawpha for their answers and advice along the way.
The Wanderr and PokerLuck for archiving their series and getting the heck out of my way for once.
Mr. Geologynut (and the gun-toting country folk) for the advice, help and eventual discouragement of the three original locations.
Janbears for prepping the containers, making the notes and the company during the actual hide runs.
Yomegranate and jacktn for their advice, encouragement, ridicule, sarcasm, and "crap or get off the pot" prodding.
Lastly, I do not solicit favorite points and few, if any, of the actual hides in this series are worthy of such. However, if you enjoy this series/geoart and are so inclined to award a blue ribbon for the series as a whole, I ask that you bestow it on Ursus Americanus - 01 (GC7AHZK) so as to draw attention to the entire series/geoart for visitors to the area.
Enjoy, happy bear hunting and good luck spilling your ink. Cache ya later!
Ol'Fogie
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