The Great Smoky Mountains are one of those places of wonder right in our own backyard. Not only have the coal and timber communities cultivated the banjo, bluegrass, and moonshine, but they are one of the most unique habitats in the world due to their forest canopy chemistry. As one of the oldest mountains chains on earth, their caps are often rounded and covered in trees, providing sheltered habitat at a variety of altitudes for critters great and small. In fact, it’s the small ones that actually deserve the most notoriety – the mountain chain boasts the highest diversity of amphibians in the world and herpetologists travel long distances to find the many salamanders hiding under the Smokies’ logs and leaf litter. This kind of refuge is increasingly important in the struggle to keep amphibians alive.
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