New Science Center in the Smokies

Ground has been broken in the Smokies for the first time since the 1960s, on a 15,000 square foot building dedicated to scientists and students who visit the park to work on ATBI or the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory project. The project is involved in identifying every living organism inside the park’s 520,000-acre boundary.

Since 1997, the ATBI has found 3,500 species new to the park, and more than 500 species previously unknown to scientist. First thought that 15 years would be required to complete the inventory, the project is ongoing and is having a positive impact on parks throughout the country, with over 57 national parks and 113 scenic areas currently conducting their own ATBI studies. This includes 15 state parks in Tennessee, who with the help of local colleges and high schools, have launched their own studies.

Located just off Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg, the building is expected to be completed in 2007, and it will be named the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center. Known as a “green” center, the building will have ultra low-flow plumbing fixtures along with waterless urinals. Special windows will reduce the need for artificial lighting and much of the building’s materials will come from recycled sources.

In 2005, Congress appropriated $3.9 million for the building project, but with escalating construction costs the final price tag turned out to be $4.4 million. The deficit was covered by the Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association who each donated $285,000. The city of Gatlinburg helped defray the $300,000 sewer system costs by extending its own system to the building.

The finished building will include a working area for visiting scientists, offices for park staff, a chemical laboratory and climate controlled curatorial space for natural history specimens.